First of all, I am using the word "triathlete" very, very loosely here. While I do think I have "earned" the ability to use the word "runner" to describe myself...it will be a very, very long time (if ever!) before I am a true "triathlete." I am merely a runner who has happened to do ONE triathlon....The Kansas City Triathlon on May 22, 2011.
My good friend
Jillian registered for this triathlon many months ago...she was SO excited...it was to be her very first triathlon post-baby (her little cutie, Oliver, was 5 months old at the time of the race)! She asked me months ago to register and do the race with her...and I held out on even looking at the race's website for many weeks. Frankly, the idea of doing a "real" triathlon freaked me out (I did an indoor triathlon in St. Louis in February of 2010, the closest I'd come prior to this to a "real" triathlon). I could handle the running (5k...easy-
peasy, right? ;))...but the swim (750 meters in open water?!) and bike (20k...just over 12 miles) caused serious inner stress (think sweating, heart palpitations, etc.) when I thought about either. Finally I gave myself a little pep-talk, realizing in the scheme of things this little triathlon
really wasn't a big deal. I should just DO it already...for crying out loud, my husband and I had purchased road bikes in July of 2008 with the intention of doing triathlons together (but just hadn't "gotten around to it" yet :)). Plus, did I REALLY want poor Jillian driving ALL the way from Central IL to Missouri/Kansas with her five-month-old ALL BY HERSELF only to compete ALL BY HERSELF? No way! :)
I ended up dragging my feet for a
little too long when it came to registering...I missed all of the early registration cut-off dates and therefore had to pay the highest rate to enter (it ended up being $112 including a one-day
USAT membership that was required if you didn't have a full
USAT membership). Yikes!!
Lesson learned: Register early!! You can save quite a bit of money on races by doing so!So...I am somewhat (
tentatively) proud to say that on Sunday, May 22, 2011...I entered and
completed my first triathlon. I emphasize
completed here because there were a few times during the event that, mentally, I truly questioned whether or not I truly "had it in me" to finish the race. Perhaps this sounds a bit overly dramatic...but I am not ashamed to admit I was a bit freaked out at times.
The
Kansas City Triathlon was truly a great event. While I was admittedly a bundle of nerves the morning leading up to the race (just ask my
compadre, poor Jillian! Honestly, I think she was kind of entertained by how nervous I was!) I was blown away by the helpfulness and kind spirits of the people involved in the event. Jillian and I met many very nice people before and during the race. When we parked the car, we realized we didn't have a tire pump with us (it was back at the house we were staying at)...but the very kind (and very accomplished...we're talking "REAL" triathletes here!) women who had parked next to us helped us out by filling our tires with air using their very nice pump and giving us some advice. Additionally, I found it easy to strike up conversations with some of the girls who were assigned spots near to me in the transition zone as well as with some waiting in the corral area prior to our heat.
Lesson learned...most people are there for similar reasons...most of all, just to have FUN!This year, 359 athletes finished the Olympic distance and 248 finished the Sprint distance (myself included). I finished 206
th out of 248.
Ick!! I know I should simply be satisfied that I finished, after all...this was just my first triathlon. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely disappointed in myself and even a bit disgusted. First off, I knew my overall finisher place (206) right away that day because at the finish they printed off little results sheets for you (which was great!). So, I knew my overall place as well as my split times...but wrongly assumed I was 206
th out of 500+ (there were 500 in the ENTIRE event...not JUST the sprint, which is what I had thought all week until I just now looked at the results page online more in-depth). 206 out of 500 would've been top 50% and I can deal with that. However 206 out of 248? Ugh!! I really thought I could do better than that!
Lesson learned: Just because you fancy yourself decently adept runner (and maybe you even ARE!), a triathlon is no stinkin' cakewalk!I don't consider myself a "wimpy" individual...while I'm not exactly an elite athlete by any stretch of the imagination, I am not exactly in awful shape, either. I work out (whether by running, swimming, biking, going to spinning classes, going to
TRX classes, or using a
cardio machine at the gym) most days of the week. I truly love running, enjoy races, and get very excited and "turned on" by competing. However, I am not ashamed to admit that this race was truly one of the most mentally taxing experiences of my "racing life." Nothing I'd done prior to this compares. Not the Warrior Dash last June (5k with 12 obstacles along the way), and not even the Minneapolis Marathon last June (the hardest of the 3 marathons I've completed thus far. It was HOT and HILLY...two things I was NOT prepared for in June in Minnesota!). No, this triathlon monster was an entirely new experience.
So...here's my play-by-play wrap-up of the event....
Jillian and I arrived at the lake where the event was held around 6am on Sunday morning. The transition area opened around 5am and closed at 7:15. We figured arriving around 6am would give us ample time to set up our stations and figure out where we needed to go, do, be, etc.
Let me back up for a minute here...Saturday night we had good intentions of going to bed at 8pm. Well, 8pm soon became 9pm...which soon became round-about 10pm. As I went to bed (we stayed at Jillian's very gracious aunt and uncle's home in
Olathe, Kansas) it was storming pretty fiercely. I clearly recall thinking, "We're in Kansas...I'm pretty sure they get some awful storms and tornadoes out here. What if we have a tornado tonight!? How will I know?! Oh well..." and I promptly went to sleep. Well, around 11pm I was awaken by Jillian who knocked on the door to the room I was staying in. She informed me somewhat frantically that we needed to get to the basement
immediately due to a tornado warning!
So...off to the basement we went. Jillian's aunt and uncle were actually not home (they were at a friend's birthday party) and had called Jillian to inform her of the tornado warning. We got Jillian's young cousin (we had been watching him that evening when his parents were out) to the basement, along with Ollie and Jillian's mother (who had driven down to Kansas from MN just for the triathlon!). We ended up getting back into our beds right around midnight. Ugh!! Our alarms were set for sometime before 5:00 with intentions to leave by 5:30.
Once we arrived at the race location, we naturally had to visit the bathroom (we parked near one, which was great) after getting all of our gear together. We made the trek from our vehicle to the transition area with multiple bags of supplies...wetsuit, Body Glide (I am so
freakin' immature, I crack up every time I read or write that word!), goggles, spare goggles (yeah, I was paranoid), running/biking shoes, socks, towels, bike gloves, helmet, race belt, race number,
Gu/energy chews, water bottles, sunglasses,
Garmin watch (which I decided to gamble with by leaving in one of my bags in the transition area instead of wearing it in the water. Sure they say they are water resistant...but I thought I'd rather risk getting it stolen in the transition area as opposed to getting it wet. Call me crazy...), cycling jersey for the bike ride, dry shirt for the run...heck probably some other things I am forgetting right now too.
When we arrived in the transition area, it was a flurry of activity. I found the place where my number, 667, was assigned and quickly hung my bike by its seat on the long pole present as I saw everyone else do. I then busied myself by studying how the other entrants had arranged his/her belongings in the small transition area allotted to each person. I hung my helmet from one of my bike's handlebars and put my gloves inside. I
layed out one of my small white towels on the ground next to my front bike tire and carefully arranged my shoes (each with a sock inside), race belt (with race number attached), and two full water bottles (one in the cage on my bike, one on the ground) in what appeared to be some sort of strategic manner (based on what I could see the more experienced people doing around me!). I put a package of GU inside the pocket of my race belt and a package of energy chews in the under-seat pouch on my bike (which turned out to be pointless, as I ate nothing during the bike...and actually only reached down twice for my water bottle during the ride to swig two very small and insufficient swallows of water).
The transition area closed at 7:15am...so before we left the area, Jillian and I donned our wetsuits. Now I had never put on a wetsuit before (um, another mistake! Next time...
try on the stinkin' wetsuit prior to race day!), so this was undeniably an interesting experience. I had purchased Body Glide (HA!) the day before when we picked up our race packets...and Jillian and I took turns smearing it on our legs, arms, and necks before carefully sliding on our wetsuits. I had read a very helpful tutorial from a friend of Jillian's detailing how to efficiently don a wetsuit..so I was mindful to pull up the legs similar to the way you would pull up pantyhose and careful not to rip the thick material with my fingernails. Jillian had actually borrowed the wetsuit I wore from a friend...which worked out great for me! Clearly I am not yet sure if this
tri-business is for me...so I didn't exactly want to run right out and buy a $100-600 wetsuit! Jillian and I were both quite entertained to note that some of the more seasoned triathletes used Pam non-stick cooking spray in lieu of Body Glide or similar products! HA!! Amazing! Note to self...
lube up with Pam before next Triathlon!
Sometime that morning I made one of my biggest mistakes...I didn't eat or hydrate near enough. During the ~45 minute car ride to the race venue, I ate a banana and some almonds. I also drank some water. However, after we left the car at 6:30
ish...I didn't eat ANYTHING until I had gotten out of the water and was in the transition area for the bike ride. At that time I sucked down one GU packet. I proceeded to hop on my bike for just under an hour and didn't eat anything until the run...when I grabbed a packet of energy chews that I luckily did plan ahead for and had waiting in the transition area for myself. Approximately 400 measly calories over a period of approximately 5 hours (5am until after 10am when I had my post-race apple) was NOT sufficient fuel for competing in a triathlon, that is for sure! Pretty sure your stomach shouldn't be GROWLING when you're on the bike leg of a triathlon :).
My "wave", the Sprint distance 29 and under women, was the final wave to go. So, I had the "luxury" of watching all of the other competitors begin the swim portion, as well as some of them do the transition to the bike portion. While it was useful for me to observe some of them, the amount of time I sat on the beach waiting for my heat (over an hour) was MORE than enough time for my body to get overly jittery.
When there were just a few minutes until my heat was scheduled to go...Jillian and I stood down on the beach with our respective groups. She was in the wave that would depart at 8:30am and my wave was scheduled to go at 8:34. We noted some commotion to our left (the area where the swimmers get out of the water and then run to the transition zone). Apparently a man in the wave prior to Jillian's had gotten pulled from the water and a team had to work to
resuscitate him! We still have no idea what actually happened to this man (I confess, I have Googled this event to see if I could find any information or if there was a news story, etc). It was definitely quite frightening to witness, though! Particularly to someone (not naming names....er...ME!) who was more than just a little apprehensive about swimming 750 meters in a LAKE!
So....someone (the race director?) first pulled aside the group waiting to dive in immediately next (Jillian's wave) and had a little talk with them. I found out later that he had about the same "talk" with that group as he had a few minutes later with my group. He basically told us all that if we felt unsure of our ability to safely complete the swim due to poor training or due to being emotionally affected by what we witnessed...we could bow out of the swim portion of the event. We all kind of looked at one another...sure it was weird/scary/unnerving...but not a one of us stepped out.
After the air horn blew, signalling the start of my wave, I flung my body into that (cold, dirty, creepy) water with the rest of the girls. I started out in the middle of the pack and swam with all of my might. As we started out, the group of us was pretty close together all in all. I crashed into a few girls and a few girls crashed into me. It was kind of funny...immediately after someone bumped into someone else, their head popped up and they said "SORRY!" Not exactly cutthroat competitors here ;). GREAT!!
After about 150 meters of thrashing around in the water, however, I started to have some mental "issues." When I opened my eyes underwater...all I could see was GREEN water up to about 4 inches in front of my face...and that was it. NO clue how deep the water was...NO idea of what "else" could be lurking below my body (or to the sides, front, or back for that matter!). I started to breath heavily...which is less than ideal, particularly when your face is in the water. I inhaled a bit of water and coughed/choked and began to panic....but just a bit. Thoughts started swimming around in my silly little brain...
if I keep swallowing this water and start to drown, no one will ever find me! Maybe they won't even realize I'm gone and won't even look for me! What if something grabs my leg and pulls me under? What if I hit my head on something (??) and knock myself out? Goodness! Somehow I had the mental fortitude to flip over onto my back and back stroke for a few meters so as to stop the rapid inhalation of water and to regain some degree of composure.
I made it to that first large yellow buoy and turned to the left. For the middle "leg" of the swim, you actually swam WITH the current...which was a great help! After I made it to the second large yellow buoy and made another left...I started to get pretty worn out. Plus, the current was dragging my body to the left...my weak little arms weren't capable of stroking hard enough to compensate for it much. By the time I reached the shore, I was pretty convinced I had been in the water about 40 minutes and just as certain that I was the very last person out of the water.
I struggled my way to the transition zone, doing my best to begin to work my wetsuit off a bit as I "ran" to my bike station. Someone who shall remain nameless gave me some "advice" before this event...."If you at all feel like you have to pee, pee while you are in the swim portion. Get it out of your system before you get to the bike. It will save you time as you won't have to visit a Port-A-Potty." Well, I sure DID have to pee as I sat on the beach waiting for my wave to begin! However once in the water (even though it was FREEZING!), I couldn't have peed if my life depended on it. Nope, wasn't happening. Of course, as soon as I got OUT of that frigid water...the I-NEED-TO-PEE-AND-I-NEED-TO-PEE-NOW sensation returned.
I may or may not have peed a bit while in the transition zone changing from my wetsuit into my biking attire. Maybe. Just a lil'. I can't rightly say. I do know, though, that I didn't exactly have full control of my bodily functions. Just sayin'.I noted with a bit of inner glee that I was NOT the last person out of the water! As I struggled to remove my wetsuit and put on a top (I swam in a sports bra and triathlon shorts under the wetsuit), socks, shoes, race belt, helmet, gloves, watch, etc....I saw a number of girls run from the water to the transition area. I WASN'T LAST!!!! Uh, sure...well, after studying my times later I saw that I had the very SLOWEST transition-from-swim-to-bike time of the 15 women in my division. Whoops.
After I felt as if my gear and attire was sufficiently in place, I jogged my bike over to the "mount bike" station and off I went. Twenty kilometers of biking...no sweat, right? I had done PLENTY of training rides of 15-20+ miles! This was going to be great. Um. Central IL doesn't exactly have the same HILLS that Kansas City boasts! To make matters worse, I had (and still have!) NO idea of how to efficiently shift gears to make smooth transitions from flat terrain...to uphill terrain...to downhill terrain. So, much of the 50+ minutes I spent on the bike was me struggling (and cursing myself and lack of knowledge in my head) to figure out how to get to where I needed to be without falling off of my bike, causing the chain to fall off of my bike (I have no idea if that's even possible...but it's one of the many thoughts that went through my frustrated mind!), and NOT finishing an hour after the rest of my wave!
When I was able to do some self-talk (ha!) and convince myself to ENJOY the ride instead of being frustrated at my lack of cycling skills...it was wonderful to take in the sights. It was a gorgeous ride! Sure it was hilly...and
windy...but it really was a gorgeous day. It was a great opportunity to participate in such a neat event in such a beautiful locale!
After I survived the ride...I transitioned from the bike to the run faster than the first transition time but not very quickly in the scheme of everyone else. Once out on the course, though, I couldn't help but smile. It felt WONDERFUL to be doing the ONE thing I felt like I could actually complete competently. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was beating down on us, and it just felt
good.
This was the FIRST time I went on a run in FIVE weeks. Five weeks prior, on Sunday, April 17 I had run in two 5ks and ended up getting a stress fracture (
sheesh...is my "competition history" a comedy of errors or WHAT?!). This caused me to sit out of a number of races I had entered (the half marathon at the U of I as well as the Lake Run in
Bloomington) in order to heal. I was nervous, of course, about my first run post-injury being in an actual race...but I was fairly confident that I could muscle through one way or another to complete the race.
And muscle through I did! It was a TON of fun to pass people on the run portion of the race...people who
looked to be fit and athletic, etc. (and I am sure they were!). It gave me a bit of a high, a bit of a mental boost after the previous two portions of the race that mentally and physically drained me (hey, I can be at least slightly "boastful" here...don't worry...I tear myself down again in a bit when I report my overall finishing times :)). Running is typically a joyful experience for me...and I can truly say I had a blast on this run. Sure, I was tired and my legs felt somewhat jello-like after the previous two portions of the race...but it really was a ton of fun.
Finishing this triathlon....crossing that big blue FINISH line...felt
wonderful. Words elude me to fittingly describe the emotions present at that time. I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment as the volunteers removed my timing chip from my ankle and put a medal around my neck. If you asked me at that moment, however, if I planned to do another...I didn't really have a straight answer. That beastly race really got me!!
So there were just FIFTEEN women in my division...females 24-29.
Here's a break-down of my times from the race:
SWIM time (750 meters) = 12:00 (9th out of 15)
TRANSITION from swim to bike = 5:02 (SLOWEST of the 15...yikes!!)
BIKE time (20k) = 53:02 (14th out of 15....again, YIKES!!)
TRANSITION from bike to run = 2:13 (14th out of 15...egads!)
RUN = 27:20 (6th out of 15. FINALLY!! Something I didn't
completely suck at! Sure it's not the best 5k time ever...but it wasn't the worst either...and plus, I was coming off of an injury, right??:))
TOTAL time = 1:39:38
Division place = 12th out of 15
Sex place = 68th out of 87 total women in the Sprint
Overall place = 206th out of 248 total finishers in the Sprint
Some Key Lessons Learned
~There is ALWAYS someone better than you (and in my case...MANY people ;))
~Being mindful of pre-race nutrition is of utmost importance. I didn't plan very well the morning of (due in part to being a bundle of nerves and just plain not thinking about eating) and definitely dealt with thirst/hunger issues leading up to and during the race. Not smart. Your body needs the right, sufficient fuel to perform at its best! As previously noted, my stomach was actually growling during portions of the race. Whoops!
~Transitions...NOT a piece of cake! I should've
practiced these! I had never even put ON a wetsuit prior to this event...so I had clearly never practiced taking one off, either. Um. WRONG MOVE!! Putting a wetsuit on is not exactly an easy process. Taking one off soaking wet while still somewhat "shaken" from the experience of swimming in open water for the
first time?! NOT an easy process. I would DEFINITELY practice not only swimming in a wetsuit prior to my next triathlon...but also taking off the wetsuit quickly and efficiently in order to improve upon my not-so-hot transition from swim-to-bike time!
~***LEARN HOW TO FREAKIN' SWITCH GEARS ON MY BIKE!!!!!***
~Support systems are key to completing most any tasks in life. Jillian's mom brought her baby Ollie out to watch the race, along with Jillian's aunt and cousin. In addition, Jillian's friend Emily and her husband came to cheer us on. This enthusiastic group of 6 provided mental and emotional support by cheering and by simply just being present. It felt wonderful! This was a good reminder to me to make an effort to BE THERE for the important people in my life when they are facing something. Whether or not I personally see the value in what they are doing or facing isn't the important thing...what is important that I provide support to them at the times they need it most. We
all need each other!
(Emily, Jillian's friend, is a stinkin' IRONMAN! Or, Iron-woman :). She has competed in many races, including a number of Ironman! But still, she came out to support us and expressed true joy over our accomplishments...though they pale in comparison to hers! She's a pretty sweet girl.)
~Gluten-free eating...while it has become much easier to find gluten free food in a variety of locations than it had been in the past, easy-to-grab gluten free fare is still unfortunately not completely common-place. The post-race food selection wasn't the best and Jillian and I were quite hungry after the race. We left after eating some fruit...which clearly doesn't do much to make up that massive caloric deficit following a triathlon! Next time, particularly when in a town where I am unfamiliar with the restaurant selection, I plan to pack a cooler with some delicious, easy (and healthy! :)) post-race gluten free food....this will help alleviate the stress of two brain-dead post-tri girls driving around in a fruitless pursuit of nourishment!
~Being humbled is valuable. It is a GOOD thing to push your body to the limit (within reason of course!). You never know what you are capable of if you don't try. And, corny or not, pushing myself really helps me put things into perpective for me. Sure, in the "scheme of things", competing in a triathlon isn't really
important. It isn't necessarily life-changing and it doesn't change much in the world for anyone. BUT...it helps me remember just how HARD things can be....and that even when faced with insurmountably difficult tasks, it IS possible to push past the emotional and mental barriors to carry those tasks on to completion. I have definitely seen this increased emotional, mental, and physical toughness...and independence...help me in other areas of my life as well.
I am SO thankful for Jillian and for her PUSHING me to enter and complete this event! Even more so I am PROUD of her for completing this difficult task...Jillian found the time to train for this event in the midst of giving birth to her first child (in December) and while dealing with some pretty significant health concerns of her son. Jillian is truly an inspiration and I am so blessed by her friendship!
In conclusion...I have lots to continue to process and think about...and MUCH to work on before embarking upon my second triathlon! Yes...I am confident that there WILL be a second triathlon. Just give me a few months :).
Happy running (...AND biking...and even swimming, too :))!
