girl of steel.

because that sounds so much better than girl of iron.  but you get my drift.

it's official...i'm an iron girl!  two years ago i trained for my very first triathlon and was hooked the minute i crossed the starting line.  this year, as anxious as i was (gotta love those pre-race jitters), i had an equally amazing time.  

the iron girl is such a unique race as it's geared toward women.  i love the camaraderie of an all-women event: so inspiring and joyful.  women cheer one another on as they pass (or are passed) each other during the different legs (okay, maybe not the swimming portion).  & every woman who races has their own story to tell.  one woman lost 100 pounds while training, others were trying to be good role models to their kids, some wanted to challenge themselves to do something they never dreamed they could finish & others were proving to the world, cancer was no match for them.  it was awesome.

as for me, i love to tri.  pure and simple.  it's also a great way for me to relive my stress while staying healthy (and maintain my ice cream addiction).   i've never trained as hard as i had for my 2009 triathlon.  while i noticed my lack of training in this race, i still had a ton of fun and went in with two goals: to beat my 2009 time and race under 2 hours.  i did both.  my final time for this race was 1:56:49 down from my 2009 time of: 2:07:16.  and that feels good.  i'm proud of myself and i feel strong.  strong as iron.

*all photos, compliments of Gump.  Thanks for the support cheering squad!