My First Triathlon (with Mono?)

It feels like ages since I did my triathlon (only about 2 weeks ago), but so much has happened to distract me from it. Despite having to stay in bed the few days before heading to L.A. for the tri, I really felt healthy the day before and day of the triathlon. I would attribute it mostly to the excitement of all five of us getting ready for the big race and seeing the hundreds of other women at the expo who would be competing. The race was great, I certainly felt like I could have done much better, including preparing better for the open water swim and run, but I felt like I gave all I could. It became clear to me when I arrive back in Oakland that despite feeling better, I hadn't magically healed. Once home after the 6 hour drive from L.A. I found a box waiting for me on the front porch. It was my new pair of running shoes! On any normal day in my life this would be a wonderful day... a chance to test drive the new shoes, but instead I threw the box inside the house and collapsed onto my bed. That was one clue something was wrong.
From then on it was sleep, doctors visits, blood tests, swollen icky tonsils, and temporarily moving back to the parents' to be cared for. After a week of constant throat pain, inability to swallow, and extreme fatigue, I am finally back at my house attempting to get rest (although this has proven tricky with voting, blood tests, constant urge to clean my messy place). Luckily, whenever I think of doing something too active, my body puts me in my place, usually by sending a wave of exhaustion over me. Now that my brain is allowing me to focus on something other than the pain, I am getting a chance to reflect on my race.
I'm proud that I was able to finish, and who knows how much the mono affected my race, but I can't wait until my next tri! I feel like I have a base ( a mono base?) and I can only improve from here. There really is no way to know how many weeks or months it will take before I have my normal energy back, but I just hope I still have the same enthusiasm. Once I'm no longer at risk for rupturing my spleen (glad that didn't happen on the race) I'd like to start swimming, maybe join a masters team.
To sum it all up, I may not be able to do much now, but I haven't forgotten the energy, fun, and excitement of the race and I can't wait to train for the next one!