Running in Angel's Shoes

This past Saturday I competed in the Tribal Sprint Triathlon at Lake Pleasant in Arizona. I was really excited about the race because it has been a little while since I've done a triathlon. The past several months I've been doing a lot of running races including the PF Changs Rock 'n Roll Marathon, the Santa Barbara Wine Country 1/2 Marathon, and several 5Ks. After several weeks of focused training, I was feeling great and getting faster and stronger. As race morning was approaching, I was feeling confident and eager to get out on the course and give it my all.

Saturday morning, the alarm clock went off at 3:4o am. I had to leave the house at 4:00 am in order to arrive at the race site in time to get my gear situated in transition and such. Even in those early hours, I could tell it was going to be an ideal day for racing. Of course, it was another bright sunny day...we get lots of those in Arizona.

When we (my Dad & I) arrived at the race site the outside temperature was about 65F and the lake temperature was 74F. Although it was a wetsuit legal race, I chose not to use my wetsuit since I have not been practicing in it. I didn't feel like swimming in my skin was going to be any disadvantage. Even though I have not been swimming with a coach as of late, I have felt like my swimming is heading in the right direction...I am feeling faster and stronger each week.

So after getting my bike racked in transition, getting my run gear bag to the truck (so it could go to transition 2), I was ready to jump in the lake. The water temp was perfect and I was ready to give this race my best. The gun fired and we were off. I felt like I immediately got into my rythm and overall felt like I had a great swim (race results show that I was slower than what I thought I would be). I was also feeling good because I overtook some of the guys who had started 2 to 3 minutes before us ladies. As I exited the lake and was running up the boat ramp to transition, I got an extra boost as I saw (to my surprise) a dear friend, Brad Horton, who was there to cheer on his son who is also a triathlete. Then I saw my Dad. I was charged up and feeling fast. In moments, I was on my bike and ready to take on the hills.

The bike course was a bit challenging with so many hills. I always remind myself that I LOVE hills. The scenery was beautiful which made it an enjoyable ride as well. I passed a couple of female riders and a couple of the guys too and so heading into transition 2, I was still feeling strong and confident that this was going to be a real good race for me. At this point, I will mention that this was my first triathlon in which there were to separate transition points. As I entered transition 2, I was mentally and physically ready to tackle the 2 miles of trail and the hill heading up to the finish line (not a cake walk of a course). I dismounted my bike and handed it off to one of the race volunteers and then went to retrieve my run gear.......................WHERE IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY IS MY RUN GEAR?!!!!! The unthinkable had happened, my bag with my shoes and such was NO WHERE to be found. The clock was ticking, the volunteers were hurridly searching for my bag which was suppose to be marked with a 174 (my race number). There was no bag 174. I started searching through all the bags, the clock was ticking faster and I was panicking! How could this happen? What was I to do? Run with no shoes? On a rocky trail? I was frustrated, agitated, and simply heart broken as my hopes for a great finish time were dwindling. I was praying for help, praying for a miracle, praying for my bag to show up...how could it have disappeared? After what seemed like an eternity in racing HELL an angel appeared. Her name was Deanna and she was a race volunteer, she asked me my shoe size, she took off her shoes and told me to put them on and run. I quickly put them on (amazing perfect fit) and I was off and running. I had a flood of emotions going through my mind and heart, yet I was singularly focused on making it to the finish line as fast as possible.

I had feelings of upset, disappointment, sadness, frustration, as well as relief, gratitude and joy. As I was running and sorting through these emotions, I knew that I was not going to hit my goal time, nor was I going to place in my age group and with that a thought came into my mind "there is only room for gratitude". And in that moment I felt peace and my heart turned to overflowing with gratitude to my Father in Heaven for his tender mercies and answers to prayers. I spent the remaining 2+ miles of the run pouring out my gratitude to God for Deanna who was an angel for loaning me her shoes, gratitude for the beautiful day to be racing, gratitude for the opportunity to race, gratitude to be healthy and capable of competing in a triathlon, gratitude for a solid swim and bike portion of the race, gratitude for my Dad and his continual support of my goals and dreams, gratitude for the beauty of the Arizona desert, gratitude for the athletic talent with which I've been blessed, gratitude for LIFE!

So as I headed around the mountain and could see the finish line in sight, I lengthened my stride picked up my pace and prepped myself for my signature finish - SPRINT through the finish line. I gave it all I had. When I found my Dad, I shed a few tears as I told him what had happened and then I shared with him all of my gratitude. After a while, the trucks with bikes and gear bags began showing up at transition 1. Deanna came and found me with a bag in hand she said, "guess what I found?" She showed me how the top of the 7 had rubbed off, so that the number on my bag read 114. What a bummer. Lesson learned! In the future make sure your race number is plastered all of the gear bag, so there is absolutely no possible way anyone could mistake it.

Overall, I am grateful I competed in the race. It was a beautiful, blessed day and I am ready to race again next month.

Continued Success,

Melissa Guthrie