MY FIRST TRIATHLON
Sunday was my first triathlon. What an experience!
In April, on a wild hair, I texted Ray and said, “Hey I want to learn to ride a bike, I think I’m going to buy one. What should I get?” After lots of back and forth he gave me great ideas and a starting point, I told him I’d think about it and get the right one. Then, the instant gratification in me took over and I went to Bike Farm and bought a bike hours later. Mind you, I’d not ridden a bike in close to 30 years. So even getting on two wheels scared me like the Dickens but I’m always up for a challenge. By the end of the week I was riding more miles, and a week later riding to and from work. I LOVED BIKING.
A couple weeks later, my friend Kim texted asking if I knew anyone who rode because she was selling her road bike. A different, faster version than mine, two weeks after the first bike was purchased, a second came home too. (Ironically we bought our house from her so the bike literally just came back to it’s first home.) I took it to Bike Farm for a tune up and, a month before the tri, Ray helped me learn to ride it. Drills in the parking lot, tips on clipping, etc., I was getting the hang of this upgraded model so to speak.
Three weeks before the tri I needed more time on my bike. So I went for a 10 mile ride around the neighborhood. I was changing gears, hand positions, signaling, leaning in on turns, drinking water, I was all the things one with the bike… until I wasn’t. Mile nine I caught a corner too hard and crashed. By the grace of God I had no loss of consciousness but was banged up, cracked my front tooth and gave myself a minor concussion. A week later, more composed, I thought I’d try riding my road bike again. My nerves were shot and my brain too afraid, I fell before I left the driveway and caught a flat later on the road. Slightly defeated, okay REALLY defeated, I realized I couldn’t ride my fast bike in the tri, I’d go the safer method with my hybrid.
Going in to the tri, I’d not swam since the crash, nor had I ever open water swam. With the concussion, I was afraid of the pressure of the water. Moreover, because of the concussion I’d also not done as much biking or running leading up to it as I would have liked. Yes, it was taper time, but I’d wanted at least one more opportunity on each but didn’t really get it. So the day prior I went to the training session to learn how to maneuver all of the events from start to finish and be more comfortable. SO glad I did.
Day of. I’m nervous. I have done so many running races that I don’t feel nerves anymore. From wake up to start to finish, I know the drill and understand the assignment of the day. But the day of the tri I had no idea what to expect. It was like my first day of school and I’m the new kid. Luckily I had a great deal of friends participating with lots of encouraging words and advice. I felt loved. Then my wave was about to go. Slightly nauseated, I was like just take the step. So I did… across the starting line and in to the open water with all the people. I couldn’t see the bottom, but I stayed unnerved because Ray had taught me to sight. Being my first tri I knew I’d PR so I just took my time, extremely literally. I swam from buoy to buoy and took a break, holding on to it to catch my breath and let the faster swimmers by. On the last 200 meters up to the beach there was no buoy in between but there was a paddle boarder. I planned to swim his direction and use him for my swim interval break but when I got close to sight him he was moving the other direction. In my head I said “awe heck (highly censored verbiage), what am I gonna do now?!” So I turned over and back stroked until I recovered, alternating until I got to the beach. Leg one done; and it ended up my best swim time to date, breaks and all.
In transition I sucked a gel, put on some shorts (I did this in my swim bottoms intentionally because I knew the act of putting on shorts would require me to slow down and breathe), socks, shoes, helmet, my retainers, and I was off for the bike. You’re probably wondering why I put on my retainers. Remember the crash that cracked my tooth? The week before I took my hybrid out to get my brain to realize it was safe. I was unsteady until I put my retainers in and then rode five more miles. The brain has a very good protection mechanism and for me I get really unsteady to ride if I don’t have something protecting my teeth now. Totally strange but, hey, it worked. Around mile four of the 14, I’d maneuvered around a number of poor patches in the road. The summer heat had broken the roads down quite a bit and, at the overview seminar, they had told us attendees to take caution riding because you could get a wheel stuck and go down. So though we could not ride side by side, drift, etc, they told us to refrain from using the right side of the road except where it was safe to do so. I took those words of advice considering I didn’t want a crash #2 on a country road where there was no course support. At this point in the race the imposter syndrome started to occur. Why am I doing this? All these people are passing me. I’m not prepared. This is going to take forever. With these thoughts, anxiety crept in and I’m still maneuvering these poor road conditions. A lady in a pink top speeds by me and yells at me, “Know the rules and stay in your lane, you’re in a TRIATHLON!” Mind you, I was heeding to the safety advice from the day prior, anxious as all get out at this point, feeling like a failure, and she didn’t yell the ever common and recommended “On your left” so that I knew she was there. This slowed me down and I started to feel the tears well up. I’m a failure. Why did I decide to do this? But then I straightened out. She was right, I was in a triathlon. I was only aiming to finish and do so without injury. And I’m a competitor, so I can make up for time on the thing I’m good at, the run. Plus all these people passing me did their first tri too at one point so I’m not alone. Determined, I kept going and, driven to make no one feel as bad as she had made me feel, I vowed that every person passing me would get a “good job, you got this” and encouraging words. No one would remember the girl in the speckled sports bra as anything less than encouraging to other participants. With that mindset I enjoyed the rest of the ride. God told me to look around and I saw cornfields, the mercantile, Richland Hall, and I became familiarized with my surroundings. I was almost done with this leg. I was doing a triathlon!
In transition, I was thankful. Thankful for the mean pink lady for getting me back out of my head and on the course. Thankful the next and last segment was my favorite thing, running. I’ve ran this lake hundreds of times; I could run it in my sleep. I found a pace, and kept it. My lungs could have a full conversation but my legs felt the weight of the previous activities. So I used my lungs to continue to encourage as I started passing people. I think I even passed pink shirt lady along the way and told her she was doing great. I found my friend James, a sprint coach who had passed me on the bike. I told him, “James, DO NOT let me beat you to the finish.” Since I had found my pace, I needed a push, someone to chase. I know James is competitive so, if I pushed him, he’d push me. I stayed ahead for about half a mile and then I heard him coming in the last 100 or so yards. The time had come, here we go. He’s a foot taller than me so when he sprints he covers more ground, I knew I had to work to keep up. He crossed the finish a split second before me, that push got us both through to the end. We had completed our first triathlon.
I had a goal to finish. I didn’t have a timestamp and somehow got myself in to the competitive division without even knowing that I could have been in the age group divisions. I had no idea they were different. I ended up finishing in just under two hours (1:57) and learned so much. I learned that, at 40, I could do something new again. I learned that I need transition work and work on the swim and bike. I learned that for every one hater there are so many more encouragers. I’m thankful for the experience, and for all my friends who encouraged me, gave me advice, put me back together (Sarah, lol), and helped me know I could do this tri and so many more.
I can’t wait for the next! Until then, fancy bike is on the trainer until she and I are comfortable enough together to hit training again and I promised my CG Games team that I’d wrap myself in bubble wrap and not do anything else until our competition is over. Which means it’s drilling and practice time for another “new” thing.
Here’s to 40, here’s to triathlons, and here’s to new things. May the thrill and the lessons never end.
