Tina Coleman’s Black Diamond Race Report:

What a fantastic day. It started out with lots of hugs from teammates/friends, fun pictures, lots of support and just plain good energy.

I chose to do the “Tri It” race vs. a full Sprint for 2 reasons. First of all I have no love what so ever for my wetsuit; it is a 5mm thick monster and I have no fun in it at all. Not because it’s a struggle to get on, (what wetsuit isn’t?) but because it is so thick I can barely run in it and my arm movement is very restricted. Second reason is I wanted to be able to compare each leg of the race to my Cascades Edge race. My CE swim consisted of a panic attack followed by lots of doggy paddling, but not this time. I’ve learned that being mentally prepared is right up there with being physically prepared. I’m not the fastest swimmer by any means but I am consistent and I completed the ¼ mile swim without stopping, panicking or doggy paddling.

The bike was and is my most challenging leg. I always feel better on the way back then on the way out and felt good and strong after the turnaround. Just for the record Teresa didn’t catch me until the last ½ mile! I was actually getting worried about her, because I thought she would have caught me a lot sooner. She is amazing on the bike and I knew if I could stay enough ahead of her, we may be able to do the run together. Then I hear “don’t let me catch you!” as she went flying past me. I was both relieved that she was ok and motivated to keep up with her, so yes, you bet your ass I was pedaling faster. As I was rolling through the finish I saw Teresa hand someone her bike and run to the sani can, good I thought; now we can run together.

The run was short and sweet. If I hadn’t rolled my ankle ¾ of the way around loop 1, I think I would have come in under 2 hours. But thank you to Teresa for staying with me the whole time, she could have past me up and kept going but she didn’t. She told me it was her mission to get me in under 2 hours and she yelled for me to pump my arms fast and faster while walking and she even sang to me when I mentioned that there was a runner out there with her ipod on and I wish I had mine. So she sang Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ for me and made me chime in on the chorus when I started to drag behind. Then she pushed me to sprint to the finish instead of jogging. That’s my friend, workout partner and motivator.

Seeing the look on my sweet husband’s face when I crossed that finish line was priceless, he was so proud of me and I am so glad Ron (Teresa’s husband) caught it on film. My husband (who I lovingly refer to as my sponsor) bought me a new Xterra wetsuit for next year, so no more Tri It’s or excuses for me. I actually told him I wanted a wetsuit instead of a Coach purse for my birthday, am I insane? Of course I am, I’m a tri athlete.

27 minutes and 9 seconds
That’s how much time I cut off from my first outdoor triathlon in June ’07 at Cascades Edge to the Black Diamond Tri last week. Sweet victory. For me that is huge and I am proud of myself. Did I make it in under 2 hours? No. But darn, 27 minutes and 9 seconds? I’ll take it.

The grand finale was seeing my friends and Raise the Hope teammates come across that finish line after completing their first Olympic distance. I am so proud of you all.

It was a good day to race.