I said yes. They asked if I would ride my bike 90 km on their team and before I had even sat perched on a road bike, I said yes.

I said yes. Steve asked if I wanted to go for a bike ride with the family and try out my new road bike and learn how to clip into my pedals, and I said yes. Then I fell, attached to my bike, flat on my rear. Twice. I choked down a mild case of PTSD, kept on trying, and finally figured out how to unclip from my bike without crying.

I said yes to indoor training classes, yes to a way-over-my-head training camp, yes to biking up mountains when I had only ever been on two rides. Yes, yes, yes!

I also said yes to work, to my kids, to my marriage, to life, which means I didn’t get to train the way I thought I would. In retrospect, it’s laughable that I thought I would have many three-hour windows with no work or kids in which to go for training rides. That’s funny!

I did my best though. I did.

Yes.

This was snapped by Steve, seconds before I crossed the finish line. That’s my dad cheering me on across the street. Pretty special.

I had never even watched a triathlon before so was totally clueless about how our relay team actually worked, but we figured it out! Our swimmer KILLED it, as did our runner. I was the weakest link but still finished faster than I thought I would.

Totally blurry selfie of our team just after Michelle got out of the water and before I crapped my pants and hopped on my bike!

The craziest “yes” of all is this: would I do it again? YES!

Thanks to everyone who supported me with encouragement before the race and during, to Steve for supporting this goal and for all the kind words you shared on Facebook on race day. Wahoo!!