The Aluminum Man

I know you have all probably heard of those iron man triathlons where people who are crazy (and I mean crazy) swim the entire Atlantic Ocean, then bike up and down Mt. Everest, and then run across the entire continental United States, or something to that nature. Well, this weekend I did the Aluminum Man. It was nothing compared to an iron man, but I was still proud of myself. It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. Totally do-able in my book.

The race was up in "The Dalles" in the columbia river gorge. The town is actually called "The Dalles." And the "the" is part of the city name. It was pretty funny taking our exit that stated toward "west The Dalles." Anyways, it was a beautful and fun place for a race.

I on the otherhand, was pretty much the most white-trash triathlete there. First of all, I did not have the customized triathlon racing suit/outfit. I was wearing my rafting wet suit and my Plaque Attackers Smile Club t-shirt that I have had since childhood which I was given for getting three consecutive over 95% ratings on my brushing skills by my childhood dentist. Then, my bike was a little "behind the times." Everyone had these amazing, light-weight, road bikes. My bike is a 30-year-old, rusty geared, (due to the fact that I left it out in the rain throughout the entire Oregon rainy season last year), 10 speed (though I only had 5 speeds that worked) road bike with tires that were cracking to the point I was amazed they lasted through the whole race. I indeed had the crappiest bike there. And, I was well aware of this as everyone passed me during the bike portion of the race including at least 3 overweight, out of shape, probably over 50-year-olds.

Nonetheless, I finished. I had a great time, and I am going to finally post some pictures of myself on my blog (for the first time). That is under the condition that no one makes fun of how ugly I am in all of them. (I was doing a triathlon for goodness sake, and that it grounds for no make-up, undone hair, and ugly mis-matched clothes!)
This is me and my racing partner, Katie, showing off our permently marked arms and legs with our race numbers. I still have these numbers mind you and had to wear a long sleeved shirt and long skirt to church today to cover them up!
This is us in our sweet wet suits and hot pink swim caps signifying our start time. The hot pink caps were intentional and required race gear, so the lifeguards could spot us drowning from the pacific ocean if need be.
This is after we were all done. Amazing we were still standing really. And, those are our sweet bikes on the back of the car.

On the way home we stopped at Multanomah Falls in the Columbia Gorge. I want everyone to know this is the long awaited picture of Derek and I on MY blog. And, just for all you folks that wanted to see his gorgeous face...I didn't blot it out! P.S. Note the proudly sported Aluminum Man t-shirt (the only real reason I paid to do that triathlon in the first place)!