1/2 mile swim
12 mile bike
3.1 mile run
and I DID IT ALL!!!
Short story: Swam in choppy lake waters for a half mile in 27 mins.
Biked 12 miles in 45 mins.
And ran 3.1 miles in 33 mins.
With transitions: Sprint Triathlon took me 1 hr. 51 mins.
And it felt so GREAT, I'm ready to do it again.
Long story: A year ago, I didn't think I could ever be a runner. I'd NEVER been able to run a mile without having to frequently walk just to catch my breath. Almost a year ago exactly, my new neighbor caught me on an attempted running day and asked if I was a runner. I said, "No, but I wish I were." She said, "So do I. We should try running together." We set up our first running adventure for the following Monday, 6am so we could be home before hubbies had to leave for work. We made the goal that no matter what, we couldn't stop to walk. We could run as slow as molasses, but as long as we were still moving in a running motion, that counted. On that first day, we finished our first mile and a half with absolutely no walking. That was the first accomplishment of many.
We ran 3 days a week early mornings and continued to increase our distance. Some mornings we had to start at 4:30 but we did it. I look back and am still amazed that no matter what, we didn't let excuses get in our way. If I wanted to back out, Amy would help nudge me in the right direction and vice versa. I never could have done all this without a buddy to keep me going. We kept increasing our distance until finally we hit a 5K (3.1 mi) and Amy had the itch to run a race. Our first 5K was the craziest first 5K ever. We didn't realize Sekani Trail Run meant up and down extreme hilly terrain. It was a brutal race but finishing was the most important part. (A few weeks ago, we finally did a make up 5K to see how our real time should be on normal terrain. I finished in 30 mins. AWESOME!!!)
We joined a gym over the winter so we wouldn't lose our running abilities. We increased our distance to 5 and 6 miles running up to 15 miles a week. For the first time in my life, a pair of running shoes lasted only 9 months. I started getting shin splints and calculated I'd probably hit 500 miles in those babies. Crazy!
A few months ago, Amy got the crazy idea that we should try a triathlon (a sprint). Our first attempt in the gym swimming pool was quite sloppy. We didn't even know how to front crawl properly (and I'm still not sure if I'm doing it right.) Those beginning swims, I improvised with what I like to call the backwards butterfly. As long as I could get from point A to B, that's what matters. A few weeks before the race, we'd finally gotten our crawl stroke well enough to swim the whole half mile without breaks.
Then there's the bikes. We asked around and finally got the courage to borrow some bikes. It's very hard to ask someone to borrow their $1,000 bike and Amy borrowed a $4,000 bike. I didn't even know there was such a thing. And then, there's these special shoes that clip into the pedals. It's good for speed because you can pull the pedals up as well as push them down. It's not too bad but a few times, they caught me off guard at a stop sign when I started leaning the opposite direction of the shoe that I'd unclipped. We practiced only a handful of times before the actual race but knew we could get the full 12 miles in.
The night before the race, the weatherman was predicting thunderstorms. We were not mentally ready to have to cancel or even postpone this race. We were ready and ready to get it over with. Half of our drive to the race it poured on us, but amazingly it cleared up and we didn't even get wet during the race, (except for the swim of course.) It was a definite blessing as the weatherman had been predicting 90 deg weather and I was not looking forward to racing in that. But the wind and clouds brought in some perfect 70s and it was AWESOME!
Now to the RACE. It was AWESOME! I'm so ready to do it again. Seriously! First, was the 1/2 mile swim. Because of the weather, the water was choppy. Some of the elite swimmers commented on how tough the swim was because of it. Others told us that every other tri we do in the future will be a piece of cake because this wasn't an easy one. I have to admit my swim wasn't pretty, but I did it. I was constantly checking my sights and avoiding others feet in my face. My pool time had been about 22 mins. so a choppy lake swim being 27, I feel good about it. They had tons of kyaks and surfboards to grab onto if someone felt they needed a break but I kept going. Not once did I take a break. I only slowed down close to the beginning when a lady with a yellow cap said, "I can't do this. I need help." I paused to help flag down a kyak and my swim buddy helped so I kept going. Speaking of swim buddies, this was my favorite part of the swim. Most races don't have these I guess but being my first swim in open water, the registration person said it wouldn't hurt to have it. So an experienced swimmer swam with me the whole way and was my constant personal cheerleader. He kept saying, "You're doing great. You've got a good rhythm going. You're almost to the next buoy. Just a little further." He seriously kept me going.
Amy and I posing before putting on our flattering swim caps.
Amy is already swimming in the water in the blue. I'm still standing in the water with the tall guy in the red cap just behind me. Someone had recommended to count to 20 before getting in the water. Another friend had mentioned she'd been kicked a few times during the swim portion and a year later is still having shoulder problems. I'd rather wait a few seconds than have to deal with kicking feet so I took a little longer getting in.
There were 4 waves staggered 3 mins. apart and those with swim buddies were in the last wave. (Green caps=4th wave--red cap=swim buddy in 4th wave) That's me running out of the water and pulling off my swim cap. It was fun to see me passing some yellow and pink caps since they'd started before me. What an awesome feeling.
Here is the transition stage. I pulled on some clothes over my swimsuit, put my fancy bike shoes on and headed out. The bike portion was fun but had a brutal head wind. I think I had 2 people pass me and I passed multiple people which felt great. Was a bit discouraged that being on flat roads my speed wasn't up faster, but I pushed hard and didn't want my legs to be too tired for the run so still pretty proud of my time. 45 mins.
So no pictures of me finishing the race because Glen got this fun video. The kids all wanted high 5s. It was great! They were such great cheerleaders. What troopers to get up at 5 in the morning to drive 45 mins. out, hike 1/2 mile (parking wasn't close) and then only see me for some short sections of the race. Luckily they got to swim in the lake while they waited for the short sections. The kids still talk about it. Andrew will say, "You can do it mom. You did a triathlon."
So we did it! I did it! From being a non-runner to accomplishing this major thing, I feel GREAT. So what next?
Glen left for Afghanistan the day after my race. I keep hearing my swim buddy's words running through my head, "You can do it. You're doing great. You've got a good rhythm going. Just a little further." I can do this. I did a triathlon!
