If you weren’t sure from this blog, Ma and I weren’t doing the tri to be competitive. If you watched us in the tri, you would have seen that, too. My husband laughed at our lollygagging through transition (though it’s pretty darn hard to get socks on wet feet, even if Ma brought powder). We rode side by side talking on the bike trail (shh, don’t tell), and we jog/walked while talking on the run portion.
We did the tri so that twenty years when we look back on our thirtieth birthdays, we can say, “When we were thirty we competed in a triathlon!”
I’m here to tell you that we successfully did that. And here’s how.
There were some of you out there who probably knew how I’d go about training (Matt and my college roommate, Tara, I’m talking about you). I did really try to train. Well, okay, I thought about training. And I did train in the sense that I exercised frequently. Heck, in summers, Matt and I usually do two-a-day workouts. Matt even makes me workout on vacations (grrr). However, I didn’t really train for the tri the way you should. Want to know my triathlon training?
Five 20-30 minute lap swimming sessions in the month of July
Two bike sessions in the month of June (on vacation)
Three bike sessions in the month of July (maxing at 12 miles – this part never worried me)
As for the run, you know about my ab injury. However, this was the part I trained for most in that Matt and I often go to the track or take to the road for run/walk sessions.
How’d that training work out?
SWIM
This part scared me the most. Though I had lessons when I was 5-ish years old, I quit before they got to the advanced sessions, and I was only ever a recreational swimmer. With the help of a friend from work (Jenni), I got some pointers that did help me out. Unfortunately, I spent time worrying about breathing while swimming with my head in the water. Didn’t happen.
Even though the Schuylkill wasn’t as bad as I had thought, the swim was exactly what I thought. Exhausting. I abandoned the thought of a strong freestyle stroke when I realized that with my head in the water I couldn’t see a thing. It was not comfortable at all. I kept my head up the rest of the time. Freestyle was very difficult. My backstroke worked well, though it often threw me off course. I side stroked and floated on my back while kicking and fluttering my arms. I felt like I could have done that forever, but it just wasn’t practical.
Ma and I stopped three times, and I hung on to a noodle twice. It seemed like this leg would never end. The course was shortened from 800 meters (1/2 mile or about 35 laps in an Olympic pool) to 600 meters (over 1/3 of a mile, or 27 Olympic laps). I’m glad it was, but it didn’t seem that much shorter. The best part was that Ma told me the one lifeguard paddled behind us for the whole last stretch because he thought we might not make it. Ouch.
Surprisingly, though, we made it in the time I thought it would take us, 30 minutes. We did get attacked by seaweed, and I did swallow a bunch of Schuylkill. I did also get yelled at by one lady two waves behind us, but really, if she’s that great SHE should get out of MY way.
I think I held Ma up at some points here, but I’m glad we were in this portion together. It was good to know that I could call out for her and know there was someone in the water who’d know if I went missing.
BIKE
This was my best and easiest part. I knew it would be, though. You don’t get thunder thighs without being able to use them on a bike. We made better time in our second loop, which was impressive because Matt said most of the people he saw lost time. Neither of us pushed too hard here (cept on the hills), and it was a good recovery time for our swim-exhuasted bodies.
The rules stated explicitly that you couldn’t buddy ride, but by the time we were on the course, no one seemed to care. We enjoyed the time riding, and I think reveled in knowing that the hard part (the swim) was over. When we compete again, the bike ride is where we’ll be able to shave off a good chunk of time. The only problem? It’s killer on your back.
I’m glad I didn’t let my week-before freak-out make me buy an expensive road bike ($1150 was the “cheap” one the bike dealer wanted me to get as a beginner triathlete). I used a hybrid that even let me pass a few people on road bikes. It was comfortable and I didn’t mind riding 16 miles on it. It let me go as fast as I’d want it to.
RUN
Our best time on the run was when we raced back to our transition areas to get our bib numbers. Whoops. Forgot about that part. After that, we started out with a slow jog, and set goal points for when we could stop to recover. My ab made it for a little bit, but then got pretty bad. It feels like someone’s jabbed a knife in me, twisted it and left it there. We managed, however, to keep up with our jog intervals (making sure to jog in key places, like where the camera guy was and when the water people were around).
The best part? On our way toward the end, one of the pros walked by us (going home, I s’pose) and it started to drizzle. She said, “It’s to wash off the Schuylkill.” I responded by saying, “We’ll need more than this.” To which she laughed and said, “I think you’ll get it.” Five seconds later it started POURING. I think we got wetter in the rain that we did in the river.
We made it to the finish line to find Matt and our supporters drenched and cheering. I have to say having Matt around was one of the best parts. I never really thought he’d know when I’d be passing the spectator areas, but I saw him every time, and he got good pics.
I had said I guessed we could finish in three hours. We beat that time by about 23 minutes. So, even though time wasn’t a goal (and we were at the end of the pack), it was a pleasant surprise.
We had a lot of fun in the tri, too. Like when we saw the one girl we dubbed “The girl we know we’ll beat” flying past us in the river (don’t worry, we beat her in the end!). There was the time when some doofus yelled at me “Nice smile, number 881” when I biked by scowling at the cowbells. We also got enjoyment out of making fun of the 12-year-old lifeguard who couldn’t understand what we were saying. In general, it didn’t really seem like exercise to us. Thank heavens!
While we were biking, we kept realizing how much we were accomplishing. To some people, like the 51 year old who did it in half the time we did, it might not be such a big deal, but it really is! How many people can say they’ve done this? As my friend Tanya said, “And to think 5 years ago we based our decision on which National Night Out to attend based on who was giving away the best food and ice cream.”
Here’s the thing, though. Both of us (am I speaking out of turn, Ma?), intended this to be a one-time thing. But we’re going back. And next time we’re going to be competitive. Don’t worry, we’re not going to try to qualify for Elite, or place anywhere near the top ten in our age group, but we are planning to go and beat our time, then go to another one and beat that time, too. We’re even going to get our husbands to do them with us.
I guess that means I should actually start training.
