Yes, I was there in 2012 at the inaugural Trifecta Triathlon....I completed my first Olympic Triathlon... I got a real triathlon "penguin (wet) suit"...I got a real road bike...I got a cool finisher's medal...and I got a sweet visor and dri-fit t-shirt... I even bought a sticker for my car...you know the one I'm talking about... the little round oval one that says: "iTri"... I look at that sticker every day of my life and it affirms my every action... my every ounce of energy I pour into my very full life... I TRY.... And it doesn't matter how fast I finished, but I did it!
I first found out about the Trifecta from a dear PK resident, my mother in law and friend, Linda Roberts and Doc Hemberger. Linda and Doc were fired up about this event from the early stages of planning and when I heard about it, I knew immediately that I wanted to bring a team from my group fitness studio in Gunter, Texas to participate. We began training 16 weeks prior to the event and had a team of 8 brave ladies and our technical coach Matt Hemberger (Doc's son). Four ladies completed their first ever Olympic distance triathlon and the other 5 completed the Sprint distance. 7 of our 9 team members came home with a place medal: either 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their age group! WOO HOO! We bonded through MANY hours of blood, sweat, tears and giggles in training and made memories to last a lifetime. Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll be able to watch the promotional video (www.trifectatriathlon.com) and not feel the same gut wrenching adrenaline I felt race morning when my alarm pumped "Eye of the Tiger" in my ear at 4:00am or the same urge to cry spontaneously with nervous, excited, scared to death, proud, and determined anticipation as I jumped off the dock into the beautiful (and cold!) lake!
According to Google dictionary, the word Trifecta itself means "a run of three wins or grand events" and is closely related to "perfection". The triathlon itself is made up of swimming, biking and running, but in the case of the Trifecta Triathlon at Possum Kingdom Lake the 3 "grand events" in my humble opinion are: The Event Staff and Volunteers, The Venue and The Athletes. This is a top notch event, organized by the best race director (Thank you Gary Metcalf of Cadence Sports!) and volunteer coordinator (Thank you Lisa Hester!). The Venue speaks clearly for itself (Thank you God and Brazos River Authority and Works Progress Administration in 1941!) and the Athletes were courteous and encouraging to one another. I'm not sure how much closer to perfection it could have been, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Gary, Lisa and crew have outdone themselves again and we will be in awe again on the 15th! And yes, in case you were wondering.......we are coming back!!! Can't wait to see you there!