I haven't blogged in quite awhile, but I thought this occasion was momentous enough to warrant the revival of the blog. So what did I do???
I completed my first triathlon! Three months ago I never even considered running a 5k let alone doing an entire triathlon, but I finished it on my own two feet! I suppose I should start at the beginning...My boss, Evia, and I have become very good friends. She is ten years older than me with two young boys (3 and 1), but she considers me the little sister she never had. I learn from her at work, but she jokes that she is learning from me in the style department (I bought her her first piece of clothing from J.Crew for her birthday - it was a huge hit!).
Anyway, I've been trying to get back in shape as has Evia - though her two kids are a better excuse than my laziness. Evia was very active before having kids. She was an avid mountain biker and cyclist and even competed in (and finished) an Ironman! About three months ago, she came into my office (which I share with my friend/co-worker Carly) and told us that she'd found this great women's only mini-triathlon series. I thought it sounded really fun (and not too intimidating), so Carly and I agreed to do one with her. We ended up signing up for one in Wilmington, which was a reasonable distance AND at the beach, which equals FLAT, which equals easy. Long story short, about a month before the race date, the Wilmington triathlon ended up getting postponed and we had to find another option. As we scoured the list, we realized that there were no more "easy" triathlons left. So we signed up for a sprint distance.
I guess I should explain the "easy" triathlons I was referring to were what I call mini-triathlons. Sprint distance is technically the shortest triathlon distance, but these were even shorter (200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run). Granted those distances were still incredibly intimidating to me, they were doable. Well, the Jordan Lake Sprint Triathlon that we signed up for was significantly longer: 300 yard swim, 11.5 mile bike and a 5k run.
Fast forward to August. The week leading up to the race I began to get incredibly nervous. I knew I could finish it in the time allotted (2 hours and 15 minutes), but it would be a struggle. My goal was two part: 1) finish alive 2) finish in under 2 hours. Evia was so supportive leading up to the race and gave me great advice and kept reassuring me that I was ready. I met Evia at the race site around 7:30 in the morning and we got our numbers, timing chips, set up our transition areas, etc. Everyone was incredibly nice at the event and a lot of the competitors around me were also doing their first tri's. Evia started about 25 minutes before me, so I got to watch her swim and transition to the bike.
Then it was my turn...9:03:30AM. The swim was WAY easier than I had thought and I could have passed at least five people, but there was no room to pass them in the pool lanes. I managed to pass one person, but ended up having to wait on the others. It was almost nice to see be able to take my time and breathe though. We then ran from the pool to the transition area. (7:53 from when I started to when I entered the transition area, a full two minutes faster than I thought I'd be - I can only imagine how fast I would have been if I'd had room to pass people). I slipped on my socks, shoes and helmet and off I went (1:30 for the transition). I totally forgot my gloves, but thankfully I didn't need them.
The bike was a lot harder than I remembered - probably because Evia and I hadn't swum before we practice rode the course. Several people passed me, but a lot of them were guys on tri bikes (like $4,000+ bikes designed specifically for triathlons), so I knew they were good. People who registered late were assigned to the last heat regardless of their swim times, so seeing those guys pass me didn't faze me. I had a couple other first timers pass me, but I kept pluggin' along. Volunteers cheered at every turn and it was really a great experience, despite the aching muscles. As I rounded the last turn I knew there was at least one person still behind me and I wasn't about to let her catch me. I pedaled my heart out for the last mile and a half and made it back into the transition area where I had to put up my bike, switch out my helmet for my CUET hat, and grab my race belt with my number.
I took off running out of the transition, but felt my legs giving out on me. I ended up walking most of the course, but there were several other people walking as well. It was so hot and so hilly and just such an exhausting experience overall that I really had nothing left to give. As I crossed paths with other competitors, we exchanged words of encouragement. I knew I was going to be last, but I had also started close to the back of the pack. I managed to run the last little bit and crossed the finish line running with Evia cheering me on. She asked me how I felt, and I responded with "like I want to puke." It was true. I don't know if I've ever been than exhausted in my life, but I was also super excited for having completed the race. I cannot explain what a great experience it was! My official race time was 1:50:59, which beat my goal of 2 hours by almost a full ten minutes even with walking!
I spent yesterday and today resting, but it'll be back to training come Wednesday. Evia and I have already signed up for another triathlon on October 3rd, which is a longer sprint (~1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike and 5k run). Evia's assured me that the bike will be even hillier. I'm going to try to use the blog to chronicle my training for the next seven weeks, so I can really analyze what I've done. Currently, I have no aspirations to do anything longer than sprint triathlons. I still find people who enjoy running insane and can't fathom running more than a 5k, but who knows...maybe one day!
Crossing the finish line!
Me & Evia post-race
