Sunday, September 7, 2008

My First Triathlon

Today, Janine and I participated in the Bowling Green Sprint Triathlon in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Susan encouraged us to participate in one event prior to the one we have been training and fundraising for. So....today was the day to do that. We drove up last night and got up bright and early this morning to get there and get going. There is much more to this type of an event that what I am used to. For runs you just have to calculate time for digestion really and time for driving to get to your event location. This type of an event requires much more planning: time to eat, time to get water bottles ready, time to air up bike tires, time to travel to your location, time to get your ankle bracelet (with timing microchip attached), time to get body-marked (with Sharpie marker I might add), time to set up your transition area and rack your bike, and in this particular event: time for a pre-race meeting. So...Janine, Tim, and I were up at 5:45 this AM! I am glad for the strict agenda in that it seemed to distract me a little from my case of unrelenting nerves. I was so super nervous/anxious.

Once the pre-race meeting was over we lined up in numbered order for the swim. Janine was about 15 people ahead of me (it was based on your estimated swim time). The swim was a snake swim in a 50 meter pool, and swimmers were released every 5 seconds. Chaos cannot begin to describe what occurs in a triathlon swim (now I know, whereas before I had only heard). First of all, people WAY UNDER-ESTIMATED their swim times. There was some guy in the first 20 racers who was swimming with his head totally out of the water and was walking by like lane 4: what is that all about? There were several folks who had not been trained or possibly refused to cross under lane lines how we were told to and so they would stand up at the end of the lane line and then bob underneath and never push off a wall or anything. The problem with crossing under like that is that it created major clusters at the end of each lane and slowed people up - it was a mess really. The other issue in the pool is that you get kicked, slapped, pushed and you name it - it's brutal really. All I could think while I was in the pool was - wrap it up and get out girl. So...at one point I heard my Dad say "two laps left Lindsy...go!" "Sweet", I thought "I can do this". I was never happier than to get out and jog to that transition course. My swim time was right around what I expected but it never really felt good or relaxed and I hope that at Tri For Sight in October I can say differently afterwards.

The transition area was no where near as hard as I anticipated. Once you get in there you are on such an adrenaline rush you just move like a robot and do what you need to do and get out. So...no complaints or worries there: yay!

The bike was great - beautiful scenery...felt good....Janine and I stayed relatively close: not much to add to that. There was a massive hill we had to climb that took all the breathing skills I had in my bag plus some major sweet talking to my quadriceps if you will. I was happy once that climb was over because we were told that was the worst part. The only complaint I have about the bike is that it is so hard to keep three bike lengths between you and the person in front of you. If you don't keep that distance you can get time-docked as a way of penalizing you for breaking that rule. From then on it was pretty simple. Towards the end of the bike I ate some Shot Blocks to give me some energy on the run and then back to the transition area we went to get ready to run.

When we started the run I felt like I had gumby legs but probably 1/2 mile into it we started to develop a rhythm and pace. The run was pretty uneventful too besides being hot because the sun was coming up. I felt like I needed a little kick towards the end to help me finish strong so I ate some sport beans and had H20 at the last water stop and then kicked it into the highest gear I had left available. Janine and I wanted to finish together and we did. It was so fun and so exhilarating. I CANNOT believe I did a tri - finally. This goal has been one of mine for as long as I can remember and I can finally say I have accomplished it. I feel really ready for our event now and I am so thankful to Susan for getting us so well prepared.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Our Transition Areas

All those who know our coach Susan get to proudly sport the calf smiley

Janine getting ready for her pool entrance - check out all the guys she has to swim around!

Here I am getting ready for my pool entrance - green and blue suit.



Transitioning from swim to bike

And, we're off!


Transitioning from bike to run


Off again!
And this, my friends is what it is all about - crossing the finish line with your best buddy and accomplishing a goal you have had for a LONG time! It doesn't get any better!

Ahhh....we did it.




5 comments:

  1. You forgot Time to Potty! :) (because it happened several times) I still cannot believe we have our first tri under our belt---so much fun to do this with you. We've come a long way, sister.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is so awesome! WAY TO GO!!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Way to Go Gals!!! You look great! I'm so proud of you both!
    Ruth
    (TNT Mentor)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow Lindsy! Congrats! I'm so interested in your blog right now. I just started running last year and did my first 5k in May. I'm training now for a 10k in November and I would like to do a triathlon next summer. I had no idea until I started researching triathlons how much goes into one. Swimming in a pool with all those people and the transitions freak me out! It definitely seems your benefiting from your trainer. Your blog has been very motivating and informational. Keep up the hard work! Good luck with your next tri!

    ReplyDelete