Two days ago I
finished my first triathlon! It is the one I have been training for about a
year now and the one that I have been posting about in this blog. I almost
can’t believe that the race is already over, and at the same time, it is only now
starting to sink in that I really did it. I finished my first triathlon!
Sunday was the big
race day. My brother, my husband and I were all signed up to participate in the
Olympic distance (swim: 1.5km; bike: 40km; run: 10km) triathlon in our city and
we were supposed to start at 4:10pm (husband) and 4:30pm (brother and I)
respectively. The late starts and the fact that we didn’t have to travel to get
to the venue gave us enough time to prepare and experience some pre-race
jitters. We ate enough, checked and double-checked our equipment, and finally
got ready to go at about 2:00 pm. It had been pouring rain on and off
throughout the whole day and we were happy when the rain stopped just in time
for us to leave. As it turned out we were really lucky because after another
short downpour, which we endured amongst many other triathletes under a
makeshift tent in the transition area, it held off for the rest of the day. I even
sport a nice triathlon-suit shaped tan-line now!
We were assigned our
spots in the transition area according to our race numbers and we set up our
stuff. I had read about this in various books and magazines but was
tremendously happy that my tri-experienced brother was there to give me advice
on where to put the helmet and how to hook up the bike. I was so nervous; I seriously doubted
that I was the right person for this. Everybody around me just looked so experienced
and fit and I had to visit the facilities more than once because it seems
that’s how my body reacts to stress. I did not envy my husband who had to leave
for the earlier start by himself but I kissed him goodbye and wished him good
luck before I finally put on my wet suit. Just a few minutes after him, it was
time for us to go and I felt as if I wanted to throw up. The swim took place in
the city’s harbor with the start being located off one of the marina’s docks.
We were about 200 swimmers in the group and everybody seemed to be putting on
their cool faces. Among the 400 finishers of the race were only 40 women which
obviously made me one of the few women in that wave. Everything was pretty
intimidating and I had another short “bathroom” break right when I went into
the water (sorry everyone!). I had my anti-water earplugs in and really didn’t
hear the signal but all of the sudden I was in the middle of a swimming mob.
That’s how I knew it was time to go and I started swimming myself. There were
arms and legs and bodies everywhere. The water was so cloudy, that I didn’t
even see my own hands going in in front of me! I got pushed around and pushed
others a lot for the first few minutes. Throughout the whole swim, I never
ended up swimming totally by myself but it got less crowded after a few minutes
and I fell into my rhythm. Obviously I didn’t check my watch to see how I was
doing but I could tell that I had a decent swim, because there were always many
people around me. I knew that I could not be way back at the end of the field
because of that. I seriously started to enjoy what I was doing and kept telling
myself that everything was going great. It was great being able to get that
positive feeling right at the start of the triathlon. When I was helped out of
the water by the volunteers I checked my watch and was thrilled to see a 31:33
minute split. This was really a best case scenario.
Triathlons are crazy
in a way because there’s not much time to dwell on anything. Once out of the
water I had to focus on my first transition. I had to struggle a little to get my
wet suit off and then had to make sure not to forget what I needed for the bike
part: helmet, glasses, shoes, race-number, energy-gels, and then off I went. I
pushed the bike to the exit where I was allowed to mount it and to my amazement
managed to clip in my shoes right away. Once I sat on the bike I was cheered on
by my parents and friends who were already waiting by the first turn. That was
a great feeling and gave me just the energy that I needed to start the ride.
Since this was the longest stretch of the whole race, I finally had a little
bit of time to settle in. Everything up until that point just happened so fast,
but on the bike I took some inventory. Heart rate, fluid-intake… What do the
other racers look like? It was pretty windy and I managed to pass some people,
was passed by many others, but continued to feel great. After about 30km I got
a little cold and started to look forward to being done with this leg of the
race. Before I knew it I was entering transition #2 and this was kind of a
milestone for me. Before the triathlon I always thought that I would definitely
finish if I only made it to the run. If necessary, I was going to walk. And here I was. Since there were so
many little positive experiences for me, I never really started thinking about
how hard I was working at the time. Of course I was exhausted, but I seriously
had the time of my life. I pushed the bike through the seemingly never ending
transition zone, put on my running shoes and cap and ate parts of an energy bar
while heading onto the run course. Only 10 km more to go!
The run is really the
part of a tri where the athletes can actually take in the spectators along the
course. On Sunday we had to do
four 2.5 km loops and that way we kept on passing our fans a couple of times,
which was great. Right at the exit of the transition zone I was greeted by my
boss who came to see me. Just when I started to focus on my tight calves, my
brother passed me who was already about to finish his race. He yelled out and
we both were happy to see that we had safely made it to this point. The first
two rounds were pretty rough, I must admit. I was going slowly and my legs were
tired. This fact did not deter me, however, because I knew I was going to
finish the tri running. I also saw my parents and friends along the course and
waved and smiled at them whenever I passed them. Some even ran along with me for
little parts of the run to cheer me on. When I finally entered the fourth lap,
my brother joined me on the course to guide me to the finish line. We talked (I
ran slow enough for that) and he told me about his great results. I was a
little confused to hear that my husband had only finished shortly before me
although he started 20 minutes earlier but I figured I would find out what had
happened in no time. I enjoyed the last minutes of my race that went so smooth.
I was really aware of running down the final stretch of the course where
everybody was already waiting for me. The announcer called out my name and I
high-fived all the friends and family who had come out to support us and
finally crossed the finish line. It was really one of the best feelings ever!
I finished in 3:04:43
(Swim: 00:32:04; Bike: 1:20:53; Run: 1:02:08). I came in place 361 out of 399
and to me it feels like I have won the whole triathlon. Writing about this, I
can still recall the way it felt to cross the finish line and it was worth
every minute I spent training during this previous year.
When I finally met up
with everyone after the race I learned that my husband got kicked in the head
right at the swim start and was not able to gain back his composure throughout
the whole swim. He could not do the freestyle stroke, which we have spent so
many hours training with our coach. He ended up doing the breaststroke
throughout the whole 1.5km swim to be able to finish. Of course he continued to
go and he still finished the whole race. I am so impressed by this and am
tremendously sorry because of the way his race went. The good thing is that we
are already signed up for our next tri where he will hopefully have an
incident-free race as well.
On a last note: My
little brother came in 16th overall and 4th in his age
group in 2:11:59 hrs. Unbelievable!
