The Miracle of My First Triathlon: Race Report

So, really, all the drama really happened before the race.

To me, though, that doesn't make it any less dramatic. I felt like I had done everything I could to prepare, but that circumstances were stacked against me. One thing had been constant through my preparations: I had faith that, by some miracle, I would be able to finish the race.

Three friends together (I'm wearing black - and penguin earrings!)

The night before the race, my friend from several hours east (from whom I'd first heard about the Triathamom) and my friend from a couple hours north (who was the only one of my friends and family to join us, even though I invited everybody) came to my house, since packet pick up was only a couple miles north of it. The friend from the east ended stayed at her parent's house that night, but my other friend and her son slept over. The next morning we piled people and bikes into my husband's truck (hooray for six seat belts!) and headed up to the race.

I was still struggling with my foot being painful to walk on unless I was wearing tennis shoes. I didn't want to walk barefoot from the pool to the transition area, so I was wearing my pool shoes - which have lots of little bumps under the toes, probably to help your feet dry better. So that's what I was hobbling around in before the race. I ended up biking back to the truck for my water bottle, but still arrived in plenty of time to set up. (I have no clue how good a space I got - but I could find it well, and I figured for my first race, that's what mattered most.)

At packet pickup, we'd been asked to rank ourselves according to our swim speed. I choose the 4th slowest ranking (out of 5), and it seems I overestimated myself. They started us in groups of three - I got to start with my two friends, yay! - and I was the third of our group to take off. I was slow enough that four people passed me before I got out of the pool. That means there was a pause between our group and the next group, and three people starting, and another pause, and another person starting, all of which passed me since I was so slow. I did a back stroke the entire way, and (except for wishing I was a little faster) I was quite satisfied with my own performance. Since my goal all along was simply to finish the race, I knew I was on track.

There was also never any mention of getting out of a five foot deep pool without a ladder. (I'm 5'3".) Fortunately, I had practiced this a couple times with the 3.5' deep pool at the gym a couple times, so I managed to climb out without moving across 3 lanes of oncoming swimmers to reach the ladder. As I exited the pool area I discovered they had added fences to keep the spectators from grouping in the way of the running athletes. Unfortunately, this meant that there was a fence between me and my shoes - and my glasses were in my shoes, and I am sadly very blind. Eventually I found the shoes, and the glasses, and hobbled off to find T1.

The bike was definitely my best event. I passed a lot of people (though that might have been because it was a two lap race, and since they were with the earlier waves of swimmers, I was on my first lap while they were on their second). The Triathamom is really a great beginner event, and there were lots of people on mountain bikes while mine is a hybrid, so that also might be why I passed so many people. I had driven the bike route about a week before the race, and it seemed to be a very gradual uphill for about 95% of the way and then a quick downhill for a few hundred yards. Because of that, I expected it to be quite challenging, and it really wasn't that bad. I did stop to see if I could help someone with a flat tire; I was pleased that she could use the tool I bought for the race, because having someone use it justifies my buying it, but not getting the flat tire myself was far less stressful than the alternative.

As I finished the second lap, I was still going really strong, and I thought to myself, This is awesome! I totally want to do this again!

I don't actually run at all yet. For the most part, I don't even really jog. I walk - often slowly, unless I'm on my treadmill with the pace set for me. I hope to write about my journey toward actual running soon. Until then - yeah, I walked almost the entire 5k.

The posters say "My Mom is a Triathalete" and "May the Penguins Be With You"

My final time was 2:44:36.0. On the one hand, I see these pictures of me and understand that many could claim a stark lack of physical beauty. On the other hand - really the only hand I choose to pay attention to - I completed a triathlon! As of the morning of the race, I weighed 126 pounds more than I did when I got married. How many other people could seriously complete a triathlon carrying 126 extra pounds??? I see myself as incredibly impressive! It is so satisfying to know that I Did This.

But, as soon as I remember all the pre-race challenges, I suddenly see this entire experience as a complete miracle, and I'm amazed at it. It's absolutely true that this wouldn't have happened without the work I put into it. But, as any math major can tell you, necessary and sufficient are not the same thing. I am so grateful.

So, the day after tomorrow is my second triathlon! It's a super sprint, it's much shorter than the Triathamom was, and I haven't faced anywhere near the challenges getting ready for it as I did the for this race last summer. And, my family is in it with me! What could be better?