New Adventure

Shamefully, I haven't updated this blog in nearly a year. Athletically, I haven’t had much to add. No new PRs, no exciting races, and truth be told, I really haven’t raced much in the past 12 months. Injuries, distractions and life seem to have taken precedence. But then…I had this GENIUS idea about 2 weeks ago. I was stressed out, frustrated and dissecting my life. Naturally, I thought signing up for a triathlon was the best idea since sliced bread. Of course I briefly thought about the fact that I didn’t own a bike (and could barely ride one), haven’t swam laps in a pool in over a year, have never done an open water swim and the heat has made my runs rather miserable. But for some reason my idiotic plan seemed to add excitement to my life. It was a perfect distraction.

Fast forward…two weeks later…I can officially say that “I am a triathlete.” But let’s back up to the day before the race (yesterday). Just so you can get a full picture of what a triathlon entails in case you’re thinking of trying one…. which I suggest. If you have the option of picking up your race packet the day before the race, do it! It makes life easier. You get to check out the swim, bike and run course, the transition area, ask questions, and set up your racing number on your bike and helmet. The less you have to do the morning of the race the better.

Race Morning: Now typically I’m the type of athlete that shows up to a race 10 minutes before the gun is set to go off – I hate standing around anxiously waiting. While this might not be smart it works for me. But for this race, since it was my first triathlon, I thought it would be best to get there 45 mins to an hour early – good decision! Parking, unloading your bike and gear, setting up your spot in the transition area, getting your timing chip, having your body marked (with a sharpie that I still can’t wash off), and of course using the bathroom 500 times (nerves, water, looking at the water.. it happens) … these things end up taking at least 30 minutes.

The Countdown: 15 minutes before the race was set to go off, they closed off the transition area and had everyone migrate to the beach. At this point I was trying not to faint. The waves looked choppy – it was a little more windy than expected (they changed the swim course direction to help with the current) – and I looked ridiculous in my gear which consisted of a sports bra (yep, I swam in a sports bra) and sporty swimming briefs.

Meanwhile, the women I was standing near literally had on swim/bike outfits – I may need to invest in this. As my mind started drifting into a state of despair, the announcer read off instructions, played the national anthem, and then 10, 9, 8, 7, …. horn blew and we were off.

The Swim: holy cr*p. I knew it would be chaotic, but it was worse than I thought. I got punched, kicked in the head, took in a lot of water, even swam on top of some people! Oh and an ocean swim is NOTHING like a pool swim. You have to constantly look up to make sure you are heading in the right direction (near the buoys), not swimming into people, and once in awhile you may have to adjust your goggles if you’ve been slapped, kicked, you get the point.

Transition 1: Upon exiting the ocean – alive – I was tired, even a little disoriented ha! I followed the crowd, ran up the beach to the transition area, dipped my feet in the baby pool to get some of the sand off my feet, found my setup, took my goggles and swim cap off, drank some Gatorade, laced up my sneakers, threw on a running shirt, strapped on my helmet, grabbed my bike, and off I went.

The Bike: I suck. I’m awkward, uncoordinated, slow, and it didn’t help that I was riding a hybrid. All I heard during my bike ride was “ON YOUR LEFT” and then sounds of bikes whizzing by. Hell, even a guy running with his beagle on the adjacent sidewalk passed me. It was Demoralizing. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do. My bike was heavy, I wasn’t clipped in, and I’ve taken a few spills while training so my goal was “just stay on the bike, Sika.”

Transition 2: Praise the Lord. I might have even said that out loud. I parked my bike, drank some more Gatorade, and off I went to the run… I have never been so happy to run.

The Run: I’ll be honest, I felt the urge to scream “on your left” a few times, especially when I passed some of the “on your left” bikers – but I resisted J Worth mentioning, the run felt short even though it took longer than a solo 5K. I assume because you have already covered a lot of mileage and it’s the last stretch of the race. Who knows? But it flew by and my eyes lit up when I saw the finish line.

Finish: I wanted to sprint but my legs felt like jello at this point. It was the first time that I linked together a swim, bike and run and my body clearly knew that. After passing through the finish shoot I wanted to throw myself to the ground and dry heave, but instead I went straight to the snack area and ate some of the watermelon they graciously provided us.

Until next time…..