Dear Maggie,
Thank you for this race yesterday. I feel a little teary eyed about it. I am a runner, and have watched my husband participate in numerous triathlons, along with my friends, I never felt like "I" could do a tri. Because I am simply that, “a runner”. The swimming component prevented me from even considering it. My father drown in a boating accident when I was twelve, and even though I love the water the fear of swimming at that distance with people on top of me was downright frightening.
I have several friends who are seasoned triathletes and were encouraging me to sign up; I got the email about the discounted rate from my girlfriend. My friend Angie said "If you don't send me a confirmation number in one hour, I'm signing you up myself." Talk about pressure! YIKES! I signed up and had basically a month to bust my butt and build some confidence. That meant getting in a pool, in a lake, buying goggles, and to figure out how to get over the awkwardness of this whole swimming thing!
I had ran a marathon in June so I had the endurance, but hadn't been riding (and I have an awesome bike!), nor swimming. I did brick workouts several times a week. My friends Angie and Stacy took me out to the lake and said "swim!" and then my day arrived. I got to the transition area and ran into 5 more people I knew from the Dirt Road Divas Running Club. I didn't even know they were doing it! I was even more excited. Nothing like having company to overcome your fears!
When we went to the lake I looked at the buoy’s and a few tears streamed down my face. My good friends Angela Justice, Tara McGill and first time racer Stacy Beirkamp pulled me to the side and encouraged me. Tara said, "You can do this you save people's lives for a living, what is scarier than that?" She held my hands and built me up. I can't even describe what was going through my head. When I started the swim I swam the wrong direction for a bit (making it further for me), the turnaround seemed so far away, then the blue caps came(the next wave of swimmers!), I was really having to "talk" to myself...finally that turn around came and I was OUT of the water...AMEN! My husband Eric, volunteered so I saw him and he gave me the high five I needed! I busted out the bike like nobody’s business; I knew I had A LOT of time to make up with my lengthy swim. Then the run, my friend Kristin surprised me and started screaming “Go Christine, this is your deal! The run is your thing!” And well here I am now I am a newborn triathlete!
Thank you for this race, I am so grateful! I did something I didn't think I could do! Here I encourage people all the time, and I had a difficult time encouraging my own self! You certainly have something special going on here! Keep the magic going!
XOX,
Christine Luikis-Hughes

PS Keep spreading this addiction to others it's contagious and healthy!