A Goal Accomplished!

Well, I did it! After months of training (and a lot of insecurities) this past Sunday, October 5th, I participated in my very 1st Sprint Triathlon.

There were nay-sayers - people who said, "you've been too sick to do that much exercise," "now you've hurt your foot, you should cancel," "I don't know if it's a good idea." I did my best to ignore them, but there was a tiny voice in the back of my head that questioned whether I would finish. I'm glad they questioned me & that the little voice was there - it made the accomplishment taste all that much sweeter!

Besides the nay-sayers, there were supporters. MANY, MANY supporters! I hope some of you are reading this - YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL!!!!! I LOVE YOU for standing by me & putting up with all my nonsense!!!

So, here are the details of Race Weekend -

Tom (my darling & greatest support) & I drove to Melbourne, Florida from DeLand on Saturday. First we stopped by the Maitland Art Show as we adore art shows & the season has begun. Saturday was relaxing & wonderful. My bike was in top form, thanks to Maya at the local bike store & a quick tune-up Tom did just before leaving the house.

I made sure to eat & hydrate well all day Saturday so I would have lots of energy.

Sunday, we got up at 4:30am & made our way to the race site. No coffee for Tom until 6:15 was a BIG problem, but he survived. I wandered around a bit in my bare feet listening to my IPod to keep calm.

Finally, it was time to head over to the starting point & I met up with some friends from BeginnerTriathlete.com. We had arranged to have temporary tattoos on so we could find each other. It was fun to finally meet people that I'd only known online!

The Swim:

We all about drowned out there. It was almost funny. If we weren't a bunch of girls, it might have been dangerous & mean, but it was a giant social with everyone gasping for air. Here's how it went down. The wind was kickin', so there was a pretty nice chop. Everyone was so bunched up that we were all just swimming on top of each other & saying, "sorry" over & over. When we came up for air we were smacking & drowning each other & apologizing all over the place. Really, if it wasn't so funny, it would have been disheartening, because it was pretty exhausting. There wasn't a great way to get out of the pack & because we were so bunched up, I'm very glad I spend so much time training to swim or I might have drowned! Actually, I did pretty well & maintained very close to my typical swimming time - amazing under the circumstances!

The Bike:

This is where I could have done better. My HRM died in the water, so I didn't have HR feedback. My bike computer malfunctioned, so I didn't have speed feedback. Basically, I was going by "feel" the entire time. I've never trained this way, so I was winging it the entire time. The headwinds going up the causeways were KILLER. Just as I was gaining speed to head up the 1st causeway, I ended up behind 2 girls who must have run out of gas, because they were pedelling like turtles! Cars were coming up, so I couldn't pass at that moment & I lost momentum right before heading up the causeway. I had to really power up to get over. The next 2 were a lot better, but it took a lot out of me. There is a great straight-away before the final causeway where I could "rest" & I think if I would have my computer I wouldn't have rested so much. I caught myself cruising at one time & had to remind myself that this was a race. I probably lost about 10 minutes during that time period of just messing around & looking at the scenery. When I got my head back on straight, I kicked it in & finished the bike strong. I sailed up the final & biggest causeway. I actually had to question if I was doing something wrong because I was passing everyone. Coming down the causeway I couldn't even pedal in the highest gear because I was going too fast - COOL!!!! I took the turn into the transition area at the bottom of the hill well & got right off the bike without problems. Overall, I loved this part of the race. I had so much fun here!!!

The Run:

I'm definitely not a runner & it showed up here. The run was not fun at all, but I made it through without too much walking. Actually, my foot & ankle held up nicely thanks to aggressive physical therapy. I'm just not conditioned well enough & my heart rate doesn't handle running that well. But - my overall running time was as good as any I've ever done, & that was after the swim & bike, so I've really got nothing to complain about!

Highlights:

1. Supportive athletes - everyone was out there cheering each other on! How cool is that? I've never seen such a wonderful environment! Why aren't we always like that with each other? When one person was about to give up, someone just came up beside them & gave them encouragement & told them how great they'd done so far & to keep going! What a model for the world!!!
2. Seeing 50+ & 60+ & even 70+ year old athletes participating! What an inspiration! I even went up to this 56 year old woman who was absolutely perfect in her 2-piece tri-suit with her 6-pack abdominals & glowing smile & told her, "I want to be you when I grow up!" She just blushed & beamed. I swam with her, she passed me during the run! I yelled, "You go girl!" She beamed again - what energy that gave me!
3. Having energy during the last portion of the bike race to blow a kiss at the photographer while pedaling uphill.

A few things I've learned preparing for the Triathlon:

1. Limitations are usually self-imposed & can be worked around
2. Even seemingly HUGE goals can look small when finally accomplished. I'm already looking at this & thinking, "Completing a Sprint Tri is just basic fitness for me - now what's next?"
3. 5-minutes of committment can create momentum that gets you going (if I feel like sitting in the recliner, I can usually convince myself to get up & work out for 5 minutes. Once I'm up & working, I feel a lot better & keep going - it ALMOST always works. When I feel bad & tired after 5 minutes, I have the option of doing another 5 minutes or just realizing I'm tired & need to rest)
4. Healthy habits are contagious! People see energy & a turn-around & really want a piece of it.
5. One healthy habit leads to another - be careful if you start down this road...you might become REALLY healthy & feel A LOT better like me!

There's a lot more, but for now, I've wasted enough time...off for a run!

Kim