D. N. F.

DNF. Three little letters. Did Not Finish. That was my official result on Saturday, thanks to 20+ knot winds and 3 foot swells in the Delaware River. The swim course for this race goes through a shipping canal, so they have a strict 1-hour cutoff. And sadly, due to the conditions, I couldn't get going fast enough to make it through in an hour. So at 8:30, I was pulled from the river by my friendly local Coast Guard boat and ferried (sobbing) in to shore.

But here's what DNF doesn't say. It doesn't say that the river may have beat me, but it was a decision on rounds, NOT a knockout. I had no rhythm to my stroke, and by the midpoint of the river (when the 3-footers started slamming me upside the head), I was reduced to breaststroke only, but damn it, I hung in there until they MADE me get out. It doesn't say that my 10 teammates who also lost out to the river comforted each other, then put aside our disappointment got down to the serious business of cheering the other 44 members of our team in to the finish line.

It doesn't say that 24 hours after the race, at least half of us were registered for the Lake Montclair Triathlon, two weeks from now, and that we are all determined to finish. DNF may be our official result, but it is not who we are.

I am so pumped up for this race on the 24th. The most frustrating thing about getting pulled out of the EFFD swim was that once you're out, you're out. The one thought I kept having during my swim through hell was, "If I can just keep going, I can get on my bike. I can do the bike. I can do the bike." I can't WAIT for another chance.

Despite the major disappointment of not completing EFFD, there were a ton of silver linings to Saturday. My parents, my Honored Teammate's family, and my wonderful friends Amber and Jeff (and their two kids) all came to the race to support me. As a result of the DNF, I got to spend the whole morning with them as we cheered the rest of the team in to the finish. Because I was on the sidelines, I got to see Pat's second transition and his finish, and be there to give him the first sweaty hug after he crossed the line. (Not to brag, but he had the 6th fastest swim time! Go Pat!) I got to watch the pros come in off the bike, and marvel at the smoothness of their dismounts.

I never would have asked for this result, but I'm proud of how I did. That swim was way, way, WAY over my head. (Literally!) I thought about it afterwards, and I think that was my third non-lake open water swim. Ever. I'm glad I toughed it out, even if it ultimately wasn't successful. And I know that on the 24th, when I DO cross that finish line, it will be all the more meaningful for this additional stumble.

I'm going to skip the blow-by-blow recap of the weekend. I don't want to dwell on it, honestly, more than I already have. Suffice to say that when we got home on Saturday afternoon, Pat and I were both beat. So we took a nap, showered, went out for dinner, and were asleep by 9:30p. Oh, somewhere in there I registered for Lake Montclair.

And the next morning I woke up at 6:30 thinking that I needed to rewind my training schedule two weeks, and think of my EFFD swim as an open-water practice. By 9:00am, I was out on my bike - 2 hours plus a 20 min run. I'm excited and motivated for each workout like I haven't been in a long time - I know that I only have until next Sunday before I start to taper again, and I want to make each workout count. Back out for a long run tomorrow morning before work, and while I know it won't be fun, I'm not dreading it. Maybe that's what my swim in Delaware taught me - that even the most unpleasant things can make me stronger.

Thanks to all of you who have called, e-mailed or commented checking on how I did. Your support means so much to me. Bear with me for a couple more weeks, and I truly believe that I will have a race post that starts out, "I DID IT!"

And now, a couple long-promised photos. More to come when I FINISH!





Me, on the way out the door to head to DE.
Pre-DNF, obviously.
(Check out the rockin' wheels on that bike!)

The agony of defeat.

We're both signed up for Lake Montclair, though!