I am happy
to report that I have successfully completed my second triathlon thanks to a
consistent month of training, a new road bike (Trek Lexa C ‘13), and (drum roll
please) a new sponsor (www.sugoi.com).
A few days
after my first triathlon back in July I felt incredible and truly loved the
experience so I signed up for the Patriots Sprint Triathlon (750m swim/20k
bike/5k run) in Williamsburg. I figured if I could get a few ocean swims in, buy
a good road bike – this was a must after my first race experience (please refer
to my previous blog post) – and get some triathlon apparel, I might be able to “race”
versus “participate/just finish”.
Lucky for me
my Mom planned a family trip to Miami (oh and a happy birthday shout out to my Mom today ... yes, 9/11) which meant lots of open water swimming
with my super talented swimmer brother, a few good brick workouts (swim ½ mile –
run 3 miles), and some training advice from my Dad (who used to bike pretty
consistently).
Now
typically when I get home from vacationing with my family I’ve put on a few
pounds, feel out of shape and quite honestly ...this picture sums it up pretty perfectly:
Not this time. When I got back from Miami I felt incredibly fit, my weight didn’t
budge, and I felt surprisingly well rested.
Next on the
agenda: find a road bike. If you are ever in the Hampton Roads, VA area and are
looking for a great biking store, Bike Beat (http://bikebeatonline.com/) is the place
to go. They have locations in Williamsburg, Yorktown, Chesapeake and Virginia
Beach. I told them my budget, that I was in need of a simple introductory road
bike, and that I wanted to feel as comfortable as possible. They picked this
beauty out for me, let me do a few test spins on the road and then literally
spent about an hour and a half to two hours getting me fitted (they had to
figure out my “leg situation”…apparently they are super long).
Of course eager,
excited me couldn’t wait to get out on the road the very next day. And guess
what happened? About 5 miles into my ride crash, boom, on the road, blood, embarrassed,
bruised, but surprisingly my bike barely had a scratch on it. Oh right, because
it landed ON TOP OF ME….literally! After picking up my bike and assessing the
damage to my body, I was thankful that my injuries were only superficial. Unfortunately
I started to tremble as I got back on my bike out of fear that I would fall
again so I decided to call it a day.
A few things
I’ve learned from my bike crash, 1) listen to your Father when he tells you to
wear gloves (2 weeks later and my hands are still trying to heal, but I’m happy
to report that I received a pair of gloves from my sponsor), 2) if you’re new
to biking, practice in quiet neighborhoods that have wide flat roads and a
speed limit around 25 or below (so glad I did this or it could have been much
worse), and 3) get back on your bike the very next day (if you aren’t seriously
injured of course). In some ways I’m grateful for my crash. It was a learning
experience, but most of all it calmed me. Getting back on the road the next day
gave me confidence. Reminds me of that quote I can’t seem to fully remember …
something dealing with perseverance. But I do like the Lombardi quote below!
My next post will be a race recap (with pictures!!)….more to come, stay tuned.
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