I DID A TRIATHLON

This post is kinda long, I go into some detail but I don't feel bad because

I DID A TRIATHLON!!

I swam… I biked… I ran…. I FINISHED!!!

I did my first triathlon on August 21, 2010. The whole Mendenhall family crossed the finish line. I admit I was the last one in the family to cross, BUT I was not the last person in the race to cross, which made me feel good. My goal was to finish and I did!

It was hard, it was really hard, but I finished with a smile on my face, well once I crossed the finish line. J I seriously am so proud of myself and my family. It’s such an accomplishment and to say that I did it with my entire family is pretty amazing.

My family is honestly what kept me going!

I talked to Megan almost every day in panic over this stupid triathlon, but she always calmed me down and told me that she would be right there with me.

Even though she ended up kicking my trash she still was a great support.

I flew into Idaho on Wednesday night, and the rest of my family came up on Thursday.

Thursday morning my mom and I went and did part of the triathlon running trail. I did ok except for my lungs were on fire. MAJOR ALTITUDE CHANGE from what I was used to training in. The fam did a practice swim in Rigby Lake. I had a panic moment and thought I was done the water temperature in Idaho is a little different then Texas, but good ol’ Mikey helped me focus on the swim and not how cold the water is. He was awesome.

Thursday night me, my sisters, and mom went to go pick megs up from the airport. This is what Megs came down the stairs to:

Two missionaries came home that night too, so there were a lot of people there. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack of embarrassment

The days were packed with such fun things like Jessica’s baby shower, Bear world, but most of the time my stomach was in knots. All I wanted was for race day to be here. When it arrived I felt more nervous, but when the start sound went off I dove into the water not thinking twice.

SWIM

Rainbow Lake, I had to swim around a lake.

We had our blue swim caps and goggles on and started swimming when the horn went off. My sister Michelle kept yelling to make sure I was ok, and kept telling me where to go because I couldn’t see the markers in the water. I think we talked for the majority of the swim, it helped pass the time. Ha ha probably wore us out more, but it still was fun. We caught up to my dad and we all just kept an eye on each other. At the end they had volunteers there to help get you out of your wetsuit, well they strip ya down, and mine got stuck on my foot, but they just kept pulling and pulling I seriously was bouncing up and down on the mat, telling them to let me just pull it off but they were persistent and got it off. My brother in Law Joe was dying of laughter.

BIKE

Training, I was very strong on my bike, but Rexburg Hills got the best of me, and that’s where I struggled the most and lost the majority of my time. I gave myself pep talks “Yes out loud” and sang along with my music. It helped. I was by myself for the majority of the bike so I thought I was the last one.

RUN

The running trail was intense. I do admit that when I started my run, Michelle and Megan passed me running to the finish line. They were a good half hour a head of me. It made me a little sick knowing I still had all my run left and they were about to cross the finish line, but I kept going.

To cross the finish line you have to go through our high school gates and run around the track to cross. I saw my family all cheering and I started to cry. It was very emotional knowing that I was almost done.

My sister Brooke grabbed my hand and told me to keep running no matter what. My sisters all joined me for the last little bit and they crossed the finish line with me.

I have an amazing family. My Mom and Dad are amazing for running in the race, and plus planning for our entertainment and keeping us fed. I honestly don’t know how they do it.

THEY ARE INCREDIBLE! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THEM!!!

I am very proud of myself for doing something that I never thought in a million years I would do. Now I am hooked. I can’t wait for next year to do it all over again.

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend!

Well its here

The triathlon that I feel has taken over my evenings with all the training, but its here.

Swim cap: Check

Wet Suit: Check

Running Shoes: Check

Bike: Check

So nervous I want to vomit: Check

WISH ME LUCK!!!!

Dan is Coming Home

Dan is coming home. In fact he will be home in about 30 minutes FOR GOOD!!!!

I AM VERY EXCITED!!!

I wanted to give Dan a welcome home gift, so I drew him a picture and had it framed.

Thought I would share my amazing art.

Swimming with something!

The Triathlon is in 11 days, and my nerves are getting the best of me. I try to comfort those nerves by talking to my sister Mich.

Instead of comforting words she sends us a picture of what we will be swimming with during the swim portion of the race.

Can't wait....

We Came, We Saw, He CONQUERED!!

TEAM B.A.D + Wives have FINALLY been made complete.

I realize this post is kind of long, sorry!

Dan’s best friend Adam got married in Vancouver, Canada this past weekend, and we are so excited for him and his new bride Nicole. I think Adam is happy, not only because he got married (obviously), but because he no longer is the fifth wheel in our adventures. (Not that it ever bothered us, but Nicole is definitely a plus!)

FRIDAY:

Dan Flew from Oklahoma City, and I flew from Austin.

I had to leave Ranger for the first time, and it was the saddest thing ever! Luckily he was in good hands!!

We met up at customs in Vancouver. It was a very interesting day of flying. Both Dan and I had delayed flights cutting it close for our connections. Luckily the second flight was held for Dan and four others, or else he wouldn’t have made it. OH THE JOYS OF FLYING!

Dan’s dad came and picked us up and we went to bed since we got in about midnight which is 2 o’clock Texas time.

SATURDAY:

We woke up and saw Dan’s other best friend Brady and his wife Lisa. Turns out their hotel room was right across from ours. They just had a little girl named Taya and she is perfect. Ah she is adorable and I must say she already loves her aunt Lesli.

We went for a run before breakfast and my lungs were ready to explode. The altitude change about killed me. I am nervous about what its going to be like in Rexburg the day of the race!!

All of us got ready and headed to the temple.

This temple made #7 for me! My different temple count is going up.

The wedding was at noon, and it was amazing. I cried through the whole thing. I just love Adam and am so proud of him for finding such an amazing girl!

After the wedding, it was pictures and more pictures, smiles and more smiles. Our hubbies and the rest of the wedding party headed to a park for more pictures while Lisa, and me were treated to a great lunch by my in-laws. It was great to catch up with them, without Dan dominating the conversation. MAN THAT BOY CAN TALK!!

Lunch was great at one of my favorite Canadian Restaurants “Boston Pizza” and then it was back to the hotel for naps. I love nap time.

Later that night there was a ring ceremony for those who were not in the temple. Adam and Nicole were so cute, and we were all so proud of Adam not cracking a joke during his vows. GOOD JOB ADAM!!

The day went by so fast, and it was already time to think about heading home. We cleaned up, and said good bye to Adam and Nicole.

SUNDAY: We said our goodbyes to Dan and Lisa, and headed to the airport. It was way to fast of a trip, less then 48 hours. Vancouver is beautiful and I wish we had more time to spend there.

I love weddings and I love that I was able to marry into such a close group of boys. I am proud to say I am married to a member of TEAM B.A.D!!

CONGRATS ADAM & NICOLE!!

We hardly touched the remote and it fell apart. I am not sure why, but we were laughing so hard about it.

Brady and Adam putting on their groomsmen ties for the wedding.

Dan and I just outside the Vancouver Temple. My face looks really fat in this picture. I don't like it.

Just hanging out waiting for the bride and groom to come out.

VANCOUVER, CANADA TEMPLE

They just look so handsome.

Me and Adam before the ceremony.

The groom and his groomsman

Me and Nicole at the reception. Her backyard and house is beautiful! It could be in the magazine Home and Garden magazine.

Uh, we are weird

The love birds

I'm not sure, but they are just funny

Little Taya, she was so adorable wrapped like a pea pod. ha ha she was so cute!

No comment....

TEAM B.A.D themselves

The famous pose that has to be done at every wedding.

At the Vancouver airport, there were birds flying around and they lived in the trees. It was adorable

My Sugar Pie. I love him so much!

He's cute when he's sleeping.

and thats the end of our Journey. Its never a dull moment for Dan and I, even if we live far apart from each other, we find some type of way of entertaining ourselves.