Our Saturday ride was a little frustrating, but all ended well.  Had fun riding back to the hotel with Dan, then I went back and relaxed with lunch by the pool, and a few relaxing solitary moments before the team picture, and pasta dinner.  After dinner we each retired to our rooms for our last minute preparations, prayers and pre-race shave (okay, I was the only male on the team to shave his legs).  After a bad movie I fell asleep and waited anxiously for my alarm to get me ready for the race.

The race was very exciting.  The traditional Hawaiian blessing was a beautiful way to begin the day and a great starting point for my prayers thanking God for allowing me to do this and prayers that I continue to do this for the right reasons.  Then the conch shell blew and we were off.  I swam a little wide on the first corner so while I was the first one to the point, I was not the first one around the corner.  As the swim progressed I felt better and better, realizing that I was in very little traffic.  On the "back stretch" once again, I swear I heard my mom's hearty, "Go Sean."  I smiled, put my head down and swam a little harder!  A few times I had difficulty breathing, but not for exhaustion or poor stroke, it was because I saw a turtle or a beautiful fish swim under me and I tried to stare too long and missed my chance to breathe.  As I exited the water I realized I must be in the top 10, because these people are yelling LOUD.  After the race I would discover that I was the 8th man and the 10th person to finish the .98 mile swim.

The bike was pleasant, but very hilly.  We knew it would be steep, but having missed part of the practice run, I did not know that there would be one spot where you take a turn at the bottom of a hill and go straight back up it.  I received a lot of encouragement from the families and friends who traveled with us, and from one of the Greater L.A. chapter coaches, Konrad Ribeiro, who was a swimmer at Bainbridge Island, when I was swimming at Shelton.  The volunteers on the course were wonderful, full of cheers and warnings of the dangers that lurk ahead, and they were willing to laugh when the "athletes" needed a good chuckle.  When you're riding up a hill moving side to side just to get more oomph, it's nice that someone notices you're laughing yourself silly at what you've attempted to do.

The run was, well, hot, sticky, slimy and hard to see.  As I left the transition area, they handed me a sponge, which I quickly squeezed onto the top of my bald (hat covered) head.  Water rushed out of the sponge down my back and face and felt wonderful, the water that went down my sunglasses was less welcome.  It was hard to see for a while until the heat from the lava fields dried the glasses and made them wearable again.  I was able to cut six minutes off of my 6 mile time from Chicago last year, and as I have mentioned Maui has hills, Chicago doesn't.  So, even though I didn't run the entire course as I had hoped, I ran and walked smartly, setting short term goals and attaining almost all of them.

When the race was over for me, I cheered my teammates.  There was no point in the day more emotional than when Penny finished.  She came across the line with our entire team behind her clapping in unison, amazed and incredibly proud of her accomplishment.  She has battled so much during this training, and we would have been proud of her, even if she didn't finish, but she did and she is a stronger woman for it.

The post race part was a blast.  I will let others share their stories with you if they so choose.

The ride home was pleasantly uneventful, and I was very proud and humbled to see a lovely red sign saying, "Welcome Home Daddy" when I arrived at our condo.  It was great on Tuesday morning when Eliza crawled into our bed and woke me up, softly saying, "Daddy!" and giving me a big hug, then telling me, "You have NO hair."  My students were wonderful, very excited to see me, and the compliments I have received have been very heart warming.

Again, thank you for your support.  I pray that God will give you the opportunity to do something for which you feel so strongly and that you will enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed this!  Triathlons will continue, and fundraising will too.  I pray that one day all the doctors and scientists who treat patients for Leukemia will be out of work, but until that happens, I will do my darndest to get out there and Tri4Mom!