Tag Archives: triathlons

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My First Tri

I may not be super fast or extremely fit, but I have a lot of determination.  Regardless of how crazy it sounded, my goal for my first triathlon was to finish it in first place (female overall).  I tried to override this thought process by telling myself that I should only focus on finishing the thing.  My husband sure reminded me of that (any time I mentioned anything even slightly competitive).  But my mind wanders and it seems to have high expectations.  There is a warning to that though: high expectations can bring great disappointment.  Yet, I would rather just push and see what happens.  I tend to achieve more when I have a bigger goal to work towards.

So, over the past couple of months I have worked hard on my silly dream.  Not really as hard as I could have, but I always had the best intentions and motivation seemed to follow suit in most cases.  Even those who appear to be highly motivated have their ups and downs.  There were days I didn’t want to get up and go swim at 6:00 am and days where I just felt like refusing to turn my dial during spin class.  But there were also days when I would plan to ride 15 miles, but ended up doing 20 miles instead.  We all have our good days and our bad days.

I didn’t let the fact that I have 3 kids to care for get in the way.  When I am not in training mode, I am in mommy mode.  If I wanted an extra workout, I would push 60 pounds of little kids in the double jogging stroller.  When I wanted to do something fun with my oldest, I would take her out for a bike ride.  This all sounds just too perfect doesn’t it?  Like I am some kind of super mom?  Okay, let me also point out that on days when I would push myself too hard, I would come home and lay on the couch while the kids watched cartoons. If I was feeling too exhausted to make lunch, then we would drive through Chick-Fil-A on the way home (always a tease to my starving self because I choose not to eat chicken).  There is a cost, but this is what makes me happy and when I am happy then I can better focus on making my family happy.  Not only that, but I feel like I am setting a good example (most of the time).

Back to the triathlon.  Oh boy, was I nervous!  I felt prepared, but you are never sure if you are really prepared when you try something new.  And of course everyone there knew who the newbies were because we had it written on our leg.  Maybe all of the questions gave it away too.  I stood by the lake prior to the start and was very relieved that I had chosen to do this at a lake instead of the ocean.  My main concern was the swim portion of the event.  Fortunately, we went in waves, so it wasn’t one big massive group swimming together.  I think I only got kicked twice.  However, when I first started swimming I realized that the lake was pitch black.  I started swimming like a person who doesn’t really know how to freestyle… the person who keeps their head up out of the water while doing the motions with their arms.  Then I realized I was being ridiculous and told myself that I know how to swim.  I stuck my face in the black water and got down to business passing people, maneuvering around the buoys and focusing on swimming in a straight line.

After I got out of the water (I must say that it did go by fast) I ran to my bike.  Even though it felt like my shoes and my helmet weren’t on right, I hopped on and got going.  As I started passing people (and that is a whole new thing because there are certain rules), I started to get worried because I know I tend to push too hard in the beginning which can cause me to die at the end.  Yet, I couldn’t tell myself to slow down because I wouldn’t listen.  My legs burned, but I just kept thinking about spin class.  The instructor is kind of pushy and I always leave class with a soaked towel (thanks to all of the sweat spilling off my body).  Maybe that paid off.  I just kept going and was relieved when I passed a little kid (very cool, but I sure as heck didn’t want him beating me).  I wasn’t even sure how far I had gone because it was the first time I had ridden without GPS.  But, it didn’t take too long before I managed to coast to the end.  The end of the bike ride that is.

My legs felt like lead when I jumped off the bike and I felt a tad tired.  I ran to change out my shoes and put my bike up.  Then I started the run.  I thought about how I usually start a run all refreshed and feeling pretty good.  Yeah, that is a bit different when you start running after swimming and cycling.  I felt like I was moving in slow motion.  Yet, it seemed like the people in front of me were moving in even slower motion.  I wasn’t even sure how I passed about 10 guys, but I did.  I kept telling myself “the run is your strength, you can push it.”  And I did push it like I normally do on any other run.  I was so happy to see the finish line, but I also felt so excited about what I had just done.  I already couldn’t wait to do it again.  Not only did I have fun, but I did finish in first place for the “My First Tri” race.  And not only did I finish first over all of the newbie females, but I also beat the first place “My First Tri” male by one minute.

I am proud of what I accomplished, but also humbled by the work it takes to achieve your goals.  I want to inspire others in a positive way and make it known that all things are possible if you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  I know I will most likely be disappointed at my next race because I have set my expectations too high (and I will no longer be a “my first tri” participant), but that doesn’t mean that I won’t try to do better.  I will still have fun doing it.

Just a side note.  When I first started training a few months ago I could barely swim a full lap without stopping and I would fall over when I tried to stop on my bike.  Don’t let those small annoyances get in the way of achieving your goals.

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I Will Tri

This morning marked the end of a journey.  It was my last Saturday morning run with Team in Training.  I remember nearly 2 years ago when I sat in the information meeting just 6 weeks after giving birth to my third child.  I was determined to run a marathon and I knew that Team in Training would help me accomplish my goal.  I was no newbie to TNT.  I had already completed a Grand Canyon hike with the Team in San Francisco and I was well-informed on how the money raised was used for cancer research and to support cancer patients and their families.   Not only did I want to run a marathon, but I knew that joining the Team would be a great way to form valuable friendships.

I was easily suckered in at that first meeting.  The next thing I know I was at the first training wondering if I would be able to keep up with the fastest runners.  I saw a woman there who looked to be about my age.  I remember that she kind of looked a bit tough and she had all of her running gear.  I assumed that she had been running for a while and I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by her.  At the trainings that followed, that running chick always seemed to go above and beyond.  She would run extra miles and turn around to go back up over the bridges.  One day I decided to stick with her and see what would happen.  Wouldn’t you know it, we became each other’s best motivator.  We became good friends…. life-long running buddies.  Even though we are now separated by thousands of miles, I say “life-long running buddies” because we already have future plans to meet up for races around the country.  Even though I don’t see my running buddy, she is still motivating me to do my best and to never give up.  I can’t thank her enough for that.

So we ran the Walt Disney World marathon.  Oh wait, let me back up for a minute.  Let’s not forget the Jacksonville Bank Marathon just 3 weeks before that.  Four of us crazy teammates decided to do our long training run (20 miles) during the Bank Marathon.  We figured that we would run the first 20 (you know, to train) and then just walk the rest (you know, to recover).  Well, that really sucked.  We don’t recommend doing that.  The Walt Disney World marathon was a much better experience even though I still thought I was going to die at mile 22.  But what do you expect during your first “real” marathon?  Pain… lots of pain.  Out of the 4, I came in last… not my best moment, but I finished!

Of course we couldn’t stop there.  My buddy calls me not too long afterwards to ask if I would be willing to coach the Fall Team with her.  Sure, why not?  Oh, but please note that when we say “Fall Team” we mean that the participants train during the summer so they can run a marathon in the Fall.  I hope you realize that I live in Florida.  I soon found out that training during the summer really SUCKS.  In order to beat the heat (whatever that means because the heat doesn’t care what time of day it is) we had to wake up at 4:00 am in order to start our runs at 5:00 am.  Not that I was a Friday night party animal, but waking up at 4:00 am on a Saturday morning really SUCKS!  But you know what?  It was worth watching those participants finish their first half-marathon.  What a rewarding experience that was!

Then what? Oh, of course I couldn’t stop there.  I just had to run another marathon with the Team, but first I had to do my own thing and finish that Goofy Challenge.  Then I was able to meet up with the Team and give it my full attention again.  But let’s go ahead and mention that I couldn’t have done the Goofy without another running buddy who I was fortunate enough to meet through TNT.  Okay,  by now you should realize that it is so much easier to finish a race when you have a MOTIVATOR!  Now THAT was FUN!  Seriously, I was ready for it and didn’t feel like I would die.  It appears that marathons seem to get easier as you run more of them.

Done with Goofy and then back to TNT to finish training for the next marathon.  I had to go back and forth between which marathon to do, but I finally decided on the Country Music Marathon in Nashville.  So, I was chugging away at my training and having fun meeting more amazing people when… WHAM!  Yep, I was hit with THE INJURY.  Whatever, you blasted injury!  It really pissed me off and I had to take a running leave of absence.  But, needless to say, I was determined to at least finish the half-marathon.  And I did.  Somehow.  Still not sure how I ran nearly the whole thing, but I did.  It SUCKED, but I pushed through.  Maybe that is why I won the TNT award for “Most Determined.”

And this morning was our celebration run.  Now what?  Oh, right.  Of course I have a plan.  Now I will finish my first triathlon.  Let’s shoot for an Olympic on June 23rd.