The following is race report left on Facebook by Rhiannon Thomas. We got her permission to reuse her post here.
Rhiannon visits from Hope Town, Abaco. She spent her younger years in Freeport, and has friends and family throughout the Bahamas. Having competed in a triathlon in Abaco in the early 2000’s, she decided to do her second triathlon this year. Her story is only told here in part; those that know her also know her strength and inspiration to others.
Rhiannon, aka “Bunza”, finished the triathlon in 1:58:46 earning third in her age group. She had one of the top women’s swims in an impressive time of 15:20 (view all results here). This is her race report:
I did it. That was NO easy task!
I arrived super early which was a big mistake….because that’s when all the Olympic triathletes arrived as well! And so setting up my transition area surrounded by a bunch of incredibly fit, super toned athletes gave me an overwhelming feeling of doubt and I couldn’t help thinking “what the hell am I doing here?” I finally built up enough courage to ask for help setting up my transition area from some hot fit young guy that was probably thinking the same thing….”what the hell is she doing here?” But I was quickly convinced otherwise when he had nothing but words of encouragement.
The swim was the easiest. Thank God the winds had dropped off to around 6 knots and the seas were fairly calm and the sky very overcast….which makes the water dark! And it was murky. VERY murky. Now as some of you know….I don’t do murky water very well. So my goal was to get in and out as fast as I could. Every encounter with seaweed, and every brush against what I’m hoping was another human being, caused me to swim that much faster. I managed to stay between two swimmers…one in front of me, and the other directly behind. You know…safety in numbers? Less of a chance of me being bitten?
Then it’s on to the bike. Now take into consideration my intention was to ‘just wing it’ on the bike. 12 miles can’t be that big of a deal…..Yeah! STUPID IDEA! First off it was 15 miles, and the winds had picked up considerably due to squalls all around! I had gone as far as borrowing a road bike and a simulator to train with several weeks prior to this event. Because trying to train for a 12 (errr 15) mile bike ride on a 5 mile long island with pot holes and hills ain’t happenin! So after one session on the porch with the simulator, I decided that this was WAY too boring and I spent the whole time looking at my watch! When I FINALLY reached the turn around point on the bike, I again thought to myself (and actually said out loud) “what the hell am I doing here?” Well there’s no backing out now! And after trying to do the calculations in my head…I realized I was half way to finishing this thing and needed to pick up the pace…especially considering I was being passed by many cyclists…….WAY older than me too. It was a lonely stretch and by this time I wanted this part of it over! I decided to stand up and give my bum a rest and my lower back a bit of a stretch! Well what goes up? Must come down….and when I sat back down on that incredibly narrow hard seat…the pain hit! Now I have a pretty big wide bum…with plenty cushion….but NOTHING was cushioning my sit bones by now! Finally this part is over and I have reached the transition area after what felt like 2 hours of torture!
And now it’s on to the run! Off the bike and what a relief! But wait! Now I need to RUN? But my legs aren’t really working very well….and the motion of forward movement isn’t coming naturally as it should! Again…..”what the hell am I doing here?” I can honestly say I have a new understanding of the saying ‘one foot in front of the other’ because that’s exactly what it was for the next 3.1 miles! And it brought me right back to the first few weeks after my husbands death, and the constant encouragement and reminder to myself “ one breath at a time Rhiannon!” And by this time in the run, I had reached physical and emotional fatigue and spent the next 30 + minutes reminding myself of these very important very simple steps…”one breath at a time….one foot in front of the other!”
I am so unbelievably grateful and humbled by the amazing words of encouragement, the support, and the love I’ve been shown. Not only for yesterday’s triathlon….but throughout these past few years! You know who you are…..
And as I finally reached the finish line, and looked up towards heaven and saw a break in the clouds with a beam of sun shining through….it was only then that I thought to myself “ok NOW I know what I’m doing here!”
Editors note: a fanny pack works just as well as a race belt! Photos taken from her Facebook page, posted by others.
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