Hey gang!
In Part I of my reflection on my first triathlon experience, I tried to not be TOO long-winded in describing things leading up to the race.
So…i’m sure y’all have been wondering one thing…
“HOW WAS THE RACE?” 
I’m gonna let ya know right now!
First and foremost, may I just say that The Austin Triathlon was an exceptionally-well-organized event? Sure, i’ve never done a tri before this race, but it was obvious. From start to finish, it rocked. There were tons of volunteers, the atmosphere was upbeat, and I have no complaints!
Okay…let’s get goin’!
Alarm clock went off around 5:00AM…I hit snooze ONCE. Got up and around 6:00 we were out the door. The first thing I did once arriving at the race site was get my body marked. After telling the woman I was “number 241″, I had to double-check, lol…I was paranoid i’d told her the wrong number! That woulda been BAD! After she put a “241″ on each thigh and arm, she put a “33″ on my left calf.
The look? Overwhelmed.
Yes, folks, i’m 33 years old. 
Next step was to set up my schtuff in the transition area. I found my bike and put a folded-up towel down. On top of this, I placed my bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses (laying inside helmet) on one side, and my running shoes on the other. I turned on my Garmin and snapped it into the newly-installed mounting bracket on one of my aero bars.
Locked and loaded!
Here comes the sun!
Everyone was gathering next to the water for the race to begin! The national anthem was sung by Shawn Colvin at 7:00, and soon afterward, the open wave (aka the badasses) got to warm-up in the water for a few minutes. When they did take off, it was an exhilarating sight! The thought of it just gave me goosebumps!
Every five minutes, another wave entered the water and after a minute they were off!
My wave was at 7:55.
The pre-race energy was insane…it was obvious that everyone was ready to get goin’!
I was SO ready to get in the water.
I had to pee like a racehorse.
Yep, I said it…and i’m sure almost every other triathlete felt the same. You see, when you’re hyped-up and nervous, it makes things speed up.
Avelina and I before the swim!
Here are some pre-race vids for your amusement!
…and finally…here’s my wave starting the race! Can ya find me? Hint…i’m in the very back…on the very right (not closest to the right-hand side of the screen, but on the right from my perspective in the water)!
What was it like to FINALLY be announced and get in the water? A RELIEF! Other than that, it was butterflies. Yes, I was nervous. I was ready to get the swim over with, and yes I was a bit intimidated…but all was good! I knew I wasn’t gonna die, lol. I set myself up in the back because it was “safe,” and once the horn went off, I waited a little bit to start swimming.
So…how did the swim go? Well, let’s just say that for 40 minutes and 1500 meters, I felt like I was having a series of mini panic attacks. Yes, I can swim, and yes, i’ve gotten a lot more proficient at it. My open water experience is very limited, however, and to be honest, there was nothing that could have better prepared me for the open water swim than just that…swimming in open water. Combined with this being my first race, the fact that I was putting my face in water that wasn’t clear freaked me out. Town Lake (now known as Lady Bird Lake) isn’t funky water. I knew it was going to be different, I just didn’t expect to freak out…but I kept going. I didn’t stop. I never stopped. I swam predominantly using the breaststroke and sidestroke, but I didn’t stop. You’re allowed to hang onto the sides of the kayaks if need be, but in my mind I knew I didn’t need to do that. In addition to having this overwhelming claustrophobic feeling, I literally swam over a rock not once, but TWICE. Kinda a shock? YES! All of this was a bit much, but in my mind and heart I knew I could do it. I just had to survive the swim and i’d be good. Crazy how you train for thirteen weeks and finally feel confident in your swimming ability, then you feel completely uncoordinated once the “big day” comes. I used the turn buoys as goals. On the way to the first turn buoy, which seemed a loooooong way away, my anxiety level was at it’s peak. I passed under the first bridge…then the second…noticed onlookers looking down at us…then there was the first turn buoy…RELIEF! I knew that pretty soon there would be the second, and that would mean I was halfway done! The homestretch! Another thing that is still so clear in my mind about the swim was the smell of the water. That lake-water smell.
May I say that even though the breaststroke and sidestroke are obviously slower strokes, I managed to keep up with and stay ahead of a handful of women in my wave? I also passed up a 50+ guy who was gliding along on his back! I developed a strategy of doing freestyle for up to 10 strokes, then switching to breaststroke of sidestroke. This seemed to work and it calmed me. Why up to 10 strokes of freestyle? Well, that was just about as much as I could handle before i’d suddenly freak out and have to get my head out of the water. It was AWESOME to look over to my right and see this enormous crowd along the side of the water. As I got closer, I heard music…I could hear the announcer and the crowd, and this seemed to make me go faster.
FINALLY…the last turn buoy…a roaring crowd…hearing the announcer tell the crowd that most of my wave was making their way to shore…RELIEF. I didn’t have far to go.
I made it.
TIME FOR THE BIKE! TIME TO GET IT ON!
In T1, I obviously wasn’t worried about making things as speedy as possible…I mean, I didn’t lollygag, but I wasn’t stressin’ either…lol
Any prior worries about the bike course were GONE. Once I clipped in, I was on autopilot and it was incredible! Hopefully there will be some professional pics of me on the bike (keep fingers crossed). I was in the zone. That sounds cheesy but it’s true. It was literally a reprieve from the swim. A complete 180.
I knew there were gonna be hills…but didn’t really calculate how many times i’d be climbing ‘em! Not to worry, though…because apparently i’m very good at climbing! I’m thinking my small size has something to do with it! I rocked the hills! Even better was what soon came after my first climbs…when I got to turn around on South Congress and ZOOM down my first hill.
You know how there are those defining moments in your life? When you look back and realize just how much of an impact a certain moment had on you? Well, not only was the entire process of training for The Austin Triathlon one of those defining moments for me…but the entire race was as well…and in addition, that first exhilarating trip down my first hill.
It was a rush…and I was instantly addicted!
Top speed = 29 mph! Not too shabby for a newbie triathlete on a road bike equipped with clip-on aero bars!
If you’re not familiar with triathlons and/or the aero position, here’s a great video:
I felt unstoppable on the bike. I did adhere to the rules and tried to keep a three-bike-lengths distance between me and the person in front of me before deciding if I should overtake them or not. There were times where I felt I had to slow down a bit to account for those around me, and I never felt unsafe during the course.
Did I mention it was awesome?
We had to make three laps and then bring it on home. Early into my third lap, I could tell those around me on the hills were fatigued. Not me! I was out of the saddle and climbing, not a worry in the world. I had no clue if my legs would work afterward, but I was goin’! The last little bit of the third lap was awesome because I kept passing lots of guys!
Time to come down the ramp and back towards the transition area. I unclipped at the right time and got my bike thru the chip-timer thingy before getting off to walk. I had NO idea of how freaky my legs would feel once I stood up and tried to walk. It was crazy! They literally didn’t want to cooperate for a few seconds as I started walking my bike towards transition, and then trying to run. I think I kinda hobbled for a bit. Trying to run in the dirt with your bike while in bike shoes with cleats after riding 24 miles as fast as possible is just something that can’t be best expressed in words.
Ya just gotta do it to see how it feels.
As I hobbled back to T2, I saw Nancy standing outside the fence with a few other people. Camera time!
I had a minor scuffle with my Garmin as I was off and running. I had removed it from my bike and popped it onto the wristband, and had it set to “auto multisport,” so all I was supposed to do was hit “lap” as T2 started, then hit “lap” again as I began the run. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to figure it out (even though i’ve done it a gazillion times) and instead of giving me minutes/mile it was giving me miles per hour. Not a big deal, as i’d pretty much gotten comfortable with my “race pace,” so I just went by feel. Fortunately, this plan worked and I felt great during the run!
Typical me…blonde moment…I ALMOST botched my entire race by coming scarily close to rounding the turn to the finish line…WITH AN ENTIRE LAP TO GO! lol
While on the bike, I had eaten a pack of Luna Moons and drank 24 ounces of water. Did I need to pee? Heck yes! I had already come to grips with the fact that I just might pee on myself while running. Other people do it, so it’s not a biggie…I just had never done it before. Let’s just say that once I got running, it became very clear that this “feat” wasn’t so easy. Most of y’all know that I am pretty much an open book and say what I feel, so the fact that i’m discussing this may not come as any surprise. My “strategy” for relieving oneself during the run went something like this:
- Grab not one, but TWO water-soaked sponges from volunteers along route.
- Soak front of body with one, and your rear with the other.
- Find a spot where you are comfortably 10 yards or so in front of the person behind you.
- Preferably find a spot where it’s shady.
- Try and pee.
Did my strategy work? Not so much. Let’s just say I could barely deliver. There was this small voice in my head saying “you would go faster if you weren’t stressin’ about having to pee,” but oh well. By the time I realized that it wasn’t gonna happen, I was halfway into the second lap and it was time to start crankin’ it up!
Throughout the run, as I passed other triathletes, I wanted to say “good job,” and “keep it up”…that’s the cheerleader-trainer in me. I think the hordes of onlookers did an awesome job for me, however. You would not believe how cool it felt to pass someone and hear “go number 241!” I mean, I didn’t know these people and they were cheering me on!
Also, what was awesome about the run was the fact that from the start of my first lap, I passed people who had to walk. I told myself that if I had to, I would walk…but it never had to happen. Even more evident to me during the run was the fact that there were people of all ages, shapes, and sizes in the race. It was during the run that I began to appreciate all of these people for busting their as*es like I had in preparation for the race. It was during the run that I realized just how very little we have to complain about. It was during the run that I realized my “no excuses” and “no whining” policies would be made even stronger.
Triathlon truly is a sport that many people can do!
The end of the run was upon me. For the second time, I passed a woman holding up a neon poster-board sign that said “Pain is temporary, pride is forever.” Amen, sista! I kicked it up a notch as I made the left onto Congress and headed up the slope of the bridge. The smell of bat guano was even more distinct this time around. If you’re not familiar with Austin, the Congress Bridge bats are truly a sight!
Yet again, I passed the guy dressed up as “Don T. Bonk,” who was holding a giant mallet and encouraging everyone. I came up on the turn that would shoot me back down the bridge, and kicked up my speed even faster. As I made the right onto Riverside, I was sprinting…the finish line was my next right! There I was!
I WAS ABOUT TO FINISH!
I glanced left and right for a fluorescent yellow shirt and there was none to be seen. It appeared I had reached the finish line before my friend Nancy had!
As I crossed the finish line, I held up my arms and did a double “guns up!” GO TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS!
The professional photographer shot my picture and I was handed a water bottle. I walked around to the backside of the finish area and wondered where Nancy was. Roughly two minutes later, I see a fluorescent yellow shirt come around the corner. She didn’t notice me at first, and even stopped to talk with her friend and watch the finish line before I said something and she looked over. Her jaw dropped. She was so disappointed that she missed my finish! Guess I was speedier than expected!
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Post-race call to my friend Sheila! Everyone and their dog had been calling/texting Nancy during the race, wondering how I was doing! We won't discuss the "porta-potty from hell" that I experienced just a few minutes prior to this picture! I can still smell it...
Happily-tired and dirty legs!
Salt on my arm!
The feeling is indescribable. I finished. I FINISHED! Not only did I finish, but I felt great AND I had a blast! I really did have a blast! Yeah, the swim pretty much sucked but I am determined to conquer it! It won’t conquer me, for I am INVICTUS…unconquerable!
I can’t wait to do it again!
Twelve years ago, I was 21 years old and going through a lot in my life. Let’s just say that my college years weren’t the happiest. I wasn’t a happy person. I was full of self-doubt, and I was unable to deal with things in a healthy manner. Instead of expressing myself verbally, I could only journal and “deal” with things through my coping mechanisms, which were exercise and food. I only knew to live in a constant state of stress, and I had little hope for the future. I honestly didn’t care about school or anything much else than my own workouts, meals, and diet pills. On the outside I looked “perfect” but on the inside I was screaming. You see, I spent a great deal of time reading back then. I read a lot of “self help” books as well as anything and everything pertaining to exercise/nutrition. I think I read every possible book about eating disorders, OCD, depression, and anxiety. I was desperately seeking answers for the questions within myself. I felt “messed up” and wanted so badly just to know why…I wanted a solution…I wanted to put an end to how miserable I felt.
Well, I bought two little books twelve years ago that I still have to this day. “Triathlons for Fun” and “Triathlons for Women,” both by Sally Edwards. You see, I wanted to do a triathlon…and, well…I simply couldn’t imagine doing one. Why? I had zero confidence. The thought of putting myself out there was just too much. I had a HUGE fear of failure which essentially kept me paralyzed. I wasn’t truly living back then. The “best years of my life” were full of negativity and looking back, I think i’ve blocked out a lot of that time.
So…in simply saying “OKAY!” when my friend/former client Avelina called me back in June to ask if I wanted to train for The Austin Triathlon, I made a twelve-year-old dream a reality. I will never forget that day because after saying i’d do the race, I had second thoughts. The old self-doubt crap tried to jump in, but I was able to begin the process of acknowledging it and gettin’ it the hell outta there! Little did I know that I was about to embark on an awesome journey of personal growth and discovery!
At noon there was a pre-race meeting where they covered the rules and the course. It was during this meeting that I began to get nervous. I had already learned that wetsuits weren’t allowed because the water temp was 80 degrees. Well, they were allowed but if ya wore one, that would mean you wouldn’t qualify if you placed well. I had no intentions of placing…after all, my goal was to FINISH the race, but I opted not to wear my wetsuit. I figured i’d get really hot in it anyway.
I managed to get ‘em wrapped, though.
So…after a few hours of driving around in the dark trying to find him, my friend and her sister had to leave. What did I do? Got in my car and continued to search. Around 6:00am, two other friends came and picked me up, gave me coffee, and we continued to search. After a while, they brought me home and told me to make 20 signs, which we could put up on telephone poles. Come to find out they did this because they were worried we would find him in the street, and they didn’t want me to freak out.
