Triathlon? Sure, why not?!

OK, it's been awhile... like 6 months. So, I've been running. I snagged a trophy for 3rd in my age group at the Swamp River Run- Harry was very impressed! I'm thinking there weren't many people in my age group, but I can't be bothered with the details.

I trained like crazy for a 5k this summer- the Fourth of July Sunshine Festival Run. I ran something like 130 miles in June alone. That was pretty horrible. I did ok- a 25:16. It wasn't a PR, but my old PR was set in the winter, pre-baby, during Goofy training, etc. Whatever, I was a little depressed.

Then we decided to go to Disney for Labor Day weekend. I was playing around on the Disney endurance site, and I found a race at our hotel! Obviously, meant to be. One catch- it's a triathlon, so there's a little swimming and biking involved. Hmmm... of course, I signed up.

So I had about five weeks to train- hadn't swum in years (and never really well), and hadn't been on a bike in forever. Oh, and don't own a bike. I managed to overlook the problems I was facing with two-thirds of the race. It's the Trek Womens Triathlon- 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run.

Looking at other sprints, I became really annoyed with the swim length- 1/2 mile is 18 laps (36 lengths) in the Y pool. I could do the distance when I started, but only by resting a lot on the sides and changing strokes constantly. I was a little concerned that there would be no sides for resting in a lake.

Anyway, I did a lot of swimming and started taking spin classes. I was going to use my daughter's bike, but luckily more experienced triathletes steered me away from that idea (nice bike, but a wee bit small!) I rented a hybrid bike instead and tried not to worry about the fact that I wouldn't get a chance to really ride it until the race.

So, we go to Disney on Friday. We do MK Saturday morning. I go to the Expo to get my stuff. There are some seriously intimidating people around me. I'm waiting in line to get my rental bike, and the bike guys are fixing tires/gears/etc on these fancy bikes. I start talking to some of the women around me (to keep from having a complete freak-out!) and they're all really cool. I feel better. I get my bike, and feel even better. It's a Trek 7100- that meant nothing to me, but basically it's shaped like a lighter weight mountain bike with medium tires. It's faster than Emma's bike, but doesn't have drop down handlebars like the cool kids. I putt around, and go put it in my transition area (basically put it on a rack).

The Expo is fun- I got some free moisturizer type stuff and bought one of those Bondi Bands for my hair. I listened to the organizer, Sally Edwards- she was really funny. She made everyone stand up and shout "I am a strong swimmer" while pantomining doing the freestyle, then "I am a strong biker" while pretending to bike, and then the same for the run. Then we had to yell "Yahoo!" while doing a finish line pose. She recommended some goggles that they were selling- being so easy to manipulate, I immediately bought a pair....

Then, off to Epcot with the family- until dark. I end the night spending an hour or so packing and re-packing my stuff. This tri thing is so high maintenance! Did I mention my PF is flaring up from too much walking lugging around my 25 pound baby?? Nice to continue my Disney tradition of starting a race exhausted and limping!:laughing:

THE RACE, finally...

After much drama with Coke machines, I score a Diet Coke and hop on the bus with some other racers. It's about 6:20- my wave was starting at 7:17. I'm so grateful it's not 3 a.m! We head to the transition area. I put my towel down and line up my running shoes and socks, race belt, helmet, and sunglasses. That's basically it. Weird. I put my water bottle in my bike cage. I then face the horror of taking off my t-shirt and facing the world in a lot of lycra. I pop down a quick gel (with my Diet Coke chaser- I'm sure I was getting some looks!) I tuck my swim cap in my shirt like the other cool triathletes (peer pressure!), take my goggles, and head towards the water. (And return to leave my flip flops- d'Oh!) It's really strange walking around barefoot.

I get body marked. They put your number on your arm and thigh and then your age on your calf (but your age at the end of the year-- so I was a year older-- not cool!) I'm officially feeling pretty tough now, with my markings and my skin tight clothes! We head down to the beach. I'm in the sixth wave. I watch the earlier racers. Sally Edwards is there to give everyone a high five. Each wave gets it's own word- when we line up, we find out our word is "Gorgeous." Cracks me up. We go through the "I am a gorgeous swimmer! I am a gorgeous biker! I am a gorgeous runner!" routine. I get my high five, and off I go.

I wade along- the bottom of the lake is sand with a few weeds. The water is nice and warm- I'm incredibly surprised to find that being in a lake doesn't scare me. Maybe the 12 year old in me who swam in lakes at camp came out?! Everyone tells you to start in the back and to the side if you aren't comfortable. I've swum a ton at the Y over the five weeks, but I decided to be conservative and stay far back. Big mistake. Yes, I wasn't trampled, which was good; but, there were so many people in front of me doing crazy things. Within 100 yards people were not just doing backstroke, but doing it so that they cut directly in front of you (as in sideways!) It was an absolute madhouse. You would get past one person, and then there'd be another doing something bizarre in front of you (probably in reaction to someone in front of them!) Then, if that weren't frustrating enough, my very fine goggles with the great peripheral vision started leaking. I was really mad at myself for wearing something brand new- how could I be so stupid!?! Then I decided I'd better just laugh about it...

Finally, the swim came to an end. On the bright side, I wasn't tired- I'd barely been treading water for long sections just watching the chaos! I hopped out and ran over the mat- I'm hoping that picture isn't too horrible, but expecting the worst. I ran all the way to transition- most people were walking, which gave me some confidence since I felt fine.

I did the clothing change and grabbed one swig of water. It took awhile to get out of the transition area- finally we were moving, but slowly in a big crowd. OK, I'm ready for the bike, people!

We take off- the route is somewhere outside the parks- we have to go between traffic cones. I'm hanging to the right while people on fancy bikes are passing me. When the road opens up more, I get up the nerve and start passing people. You yell "On your left!" and blow by. Passing is really fun. Getting passed? Not so fun. The overpasses kind of stunk, but not as much as running them! The worst part- you had to turn around at the base of one of the overpasses, and then haul it up!

I was really, really jealous of the people on the "road bikes" with the skinny tires, drop down handlebars, and clip pedals. I decided not to be annoyed with them passing me- I focused on not being passed by people on bikes like mine who were wearing running shoes instead of biking shoes. I kept up a fairly steady pace until the last mile (I think- why are there no mile markers on the bike part?!) The last mile was on sidewalks and windy paths through the Fort Wilderness resort. I got passed a couple of times on the sidewalk- scary! I got stuck behind a slower woman when we reached the spectators- her family was cheering for her. I decided there was no way I was passing her while they were yelling "Go Mom!" I have my standards.

I hopped off the bike with no trouble, and ran it to the transition area. I was sort of perplexed in the second transition- I took off my helmet, put on my visor and race belt, and grabbed a sip of water. That was all I had to do- I kind of wanted to procrastinate a bit!

I'm realizing as I start running that I'm going into this dehydrated. I was way too scared to drink water on my bike, so I'd basically had maybe 2 ounces of water this whole time. D'Oh! Oh well. I'm also sad that I don't have my iPod. On the bright side, I'm not moving that fast, but I don't feel bad. It's a really boring hot, humid course with two out and backs, but I'm so happy to be on the ground on my own feet. And now, because I'm a much better runner than a swimmer or biker, I'm passing people. That's working for me. I see the finish- I get a high five from Sally, and the next thing I know, I have a medal. (It's not the greatest looking medal- a little subtle for me, but I'm all about giant Disney characters...)

I grab some free SportBeans for the kids and turn in my bike. Back for a shower, and then a full day at Epcot. Anytime anyone says anything about being hot or tired, I immediately say something like "yeah, I can see where you're getting a little tired... you didn't by any chance do a TRIATHLON this morning, did you?!" This cracks me up. I also suffered from a bad case of "race thinking"- at one point I freaked out thinking I'd lost my 3 year old. Ted pointed out that he was actually sitting in the stroller... that I was pushing.

Anyway, it was great fun. I learned a lot and really enjoyed the training. I will definitely keep up the swimming and spin classes. And I want a bike to ride with the kids- so I'll probably get an entry-level road bike just in case another tri just happens to pop up...