Let me tell you about today.. I walked into my race confident as I have been training for this day for 7 months. As I arrived they announced the water temp was 2 degrees over to allow for wetsuits. I never swam in open water without my wetsuit. I immediately freaked and my anxiety heightened and I couldn’t control my breathing in the water and kept having to take breaks. I had my entire cheer squad watching me struggle. It wasn’t until midpoint I calmed myself and got myself to swim the rest of the way with no breaks telling myself to show them I can do this. I never felt so free and great in open water. This was the most challenging swim of my life and I will always hold onto this moment. From there it was a breeze. Biking and running was easy and I’m still upset @nyctriathlon shortened the route because I had all the energy for more. Would I do another tri? YES! This opened a whole new world for me and I’m ready for more. Huge shoutout to my family and friends for being such an amazing cheer squad and support system for me. I couldn’t have done the swim portion without ya. I’M OFFICIALLY A TRIATHLETE ❤️