Signed Up For My First Olympic, Crazy, I Know

Crazy. I am. I know it. But if you aren't pushing the edge of something you haven't done before... isn't it really the same experience? A settling into a new ‘comfort zone’?  I could easily trot along, happily doing a couple of sprint distance events every year. However I’ve also completed about 8 full sprint distance training triathlons, starting from my local pool & 2  woman only sprint distances. Both of those were great.  I made goal at one and was off of goal on the second due to  mechanical issues and hesitancy in the swim. Haven't I spent way too many years numbly ‘comfortable’? Unaware of any possibilities within myself. Alive yet not living?  Am I ready for an Olympic? 


While working at Texas Renaissance Festival as a beer & wine wench(earning for a bike rack & HW monitor) , I was thinking and thinking about this. Do I sign up or not? Decide too late & there would be no available slots. This region isn't blessed with an overabundance of Olympic distance triathlons, nor am I over-abundantly financed to be able to travel far with a bike & gear for an event. Am I ready for an Olympic? No. Not right this second, not even next month!  I can do the distances individually. Not happily and not with speed resembling any animal that ambulates at a speed between the turtle and the hare. More like a snail.


I thought back to January, when I slunk hesitantly into the TAMU pool next to Zentriathlon base camp athletes. I didn't think I could do that either. I was almost sick with nerves, hands shaking, toes cramping. The other side of the pool was a LONG ways away. I eventually made a few laps, slithered out of the pool to watch. Art in Motion. These athletes were so sure of themselves, full of technical jargon, spandex, lycra, heart-rate, cadence, low body fat, nonchalant kindness. Maybe they had never been fat, yet each of them was holding their own challenges at bay through triathlon training. I wanted to be a little more like them.


Almost a year of training and two triathlons later. I am a little more like them. An athlete. Yeah, a fat athlete, but still an athlete!  An individual using triathlon to re-pattern a life more sustainable. Transitioning alone, for no one but myself, I’m making those healthy choices more and more often.  A few dates have commented on my ‘weird eating habits’ and my ‘going to bed early’.  I hear them and wonder how much more narrow my compatibility field of life partners is becoming. As I continue forward into my own unknown, the field will narrow until only one is in the focus. I am looking forward till then!

Meanwhile my quiet version of crazy will continue and increase. I have the goal of my 1st Olympic triathlon to train towards.Come out and cheer me on Sunday April 3, 2011 at Kenmah in Galveston Texas at Gateway to the Bay!

Pro & Cons of Trek Triathlon (IMO)

Its 4 days after my 2^nd triathlon, the Trek Womans Sprint triathlon in Austin Texas. I feel pretty darn good!   Caught up on sleep & awoken by the TAMU Aggie band blasting a brassy 6AM good morning through my open window! Fall in Texas is incredible. Sneezing like crazy, but that’s simply this time of year allergies. Going to Golds spin class this afternoon & back in the pool tomorrow. Giving my toe/foot pad another week before running… it’s swollen up & still hurts.

 Yesterday I had a nice after action review chat with Brett of Zen & the Art of Triathlon.  My swim start has improved!  Other improvements included the purchase of a race number belt, soft timing chip strap, bento box & shoe lace toggles at the Bicycle Sport Shop Expo. Laying out & packing my transition bag on Thur, then re-laying out on Sat was a great help. Since I had plenty of room in the tri-beetle, I had extra towels that came in handy since there was a T1A & a T1B. The new size 2 Enell sports bra combined with a size L supportive yoga top worked great for the swim & bike & was almost enough anti-bounce( I’m always looking for Complete anti-bounce for 36-38 F/G.. if you know of a product) for the run. 

Pre and enroute nutrition also felt good even if I may have eaten more than I needed. At 6AM I ate the eggs from inside some breakfast tacos, at 7:15AM  ¼ an avocado & ½  banana. On the bike I packed too much liquid. 2 waters & 1 bottle of Vega sports drink combined with Hornet Juice. I also peeled & split up a tangelo & a few strawberries into a baggie in the bento box. I drank about 1/3 of the sport drink combo and slurped 4 tangelo wedges & 2 strawberries..I’m still not great at pulling the water out form the behind the seat rack to drink so I slugged down water at T2.

 Triathlon is all about you improving yourself. Improvement comes in self and external knowledge. Brett suggested that I start out even slower to avoid the asthma & hyperventilating excitement. When we were talking about the bike portion, I learned about ‘limit screws’ for the chain. My run-walk time and calf soreness both are reflective of lack of hill work training. I tested my outfit both weekends prior to the race, but at the last minute I decided to use the race shirt as my shirt over my swim set-up. My arm undersides were chaffed to bloody speckles… Always test your equipment and attires and then use the tested stuff! Something to work on for future events J And yeah.. there will be future events.

 About the race environment: FABULOUS. Pace Bend Park is west of Austin Texas situated on the limestone hills above and along the lakes. Accommodations within the park included tent and RV camping or rooms at the Highland Lakes Camp & Conference Center.  This year the weather gods gifted Texas with a utopian vision of fall.  The curvy rolling hills of the bike ride were flanked with blooming lantana, cardinal flowers, gay feathers, fall aster, wild petunias and many others. The trees were green; the grasses were plumed with seed heads, waving in a gentle wind. The lake was brown and smooth with water temps in the low 80s. The best thing about the lake was it didn’t stink! Now if only the entry hadn’t been a boulder-field!  I even saw a small tarantula participating on the run portion! My room was about 40 steps from the bike rack area! The camp allowed a late checkout, so the shower was incredible after the race!  I’d recommend races in this area simply for the environment(excepting the rocky swim egress!).

Maybe I was spoiled at my first race, the Skeese Greets Womans Sprint Triathlon; but there were a few things I thought could be improved.  Packet pickup location was revealed last minute. There were no lights at T1A or T1B, so if you do this race next year a headlamp will help you set-up your transitions, because its dark at 6AM. Bring an older pair of tennis shoes for the T1A to T1B 1/3 mile run from swim to bike racks, so you don’t have to wear wet shoes on the rest of the run after the bike segment. It would have been nice to get a professional pre-race photo.  I never really saw anyone checking bike numbers with participant numbers… I believe athletes and their support are not likely to walk off with someone else’s bike, but… My big disappointment was the finish line party… Crossing the timing mat, you received a water bottle & pretty finisher’s medal and there were bananas & snack bags of Chips Ahoy cookies. Yet massages were a $1/minute, bbq was available for purchase and that was about it. In contrast, the Skeese Greeets Tri had an after-party, loud music, New Belguim Fat Tire beer, frozen yogurt, gourmet fruit slices, hamburgers and more, along with free massages, action wipes, and assorted vendor booths were available for the athletes (& I think the supporters could purchase items) The Trek Traithlon finish was anti-climatic. 

Time to focus on improvements and select another event!  One thing about triathlon; the very best part is the amazing, inspiring, encouraging, every day individuals crossing the finish line to their own best personal victory!