Trying the Tri

  

            For years the idea of completing a triathlon tempted me. It seemed to me like an ultimate test of athleticism. Anyone can excel at one endurance sport, but three?! That’s a whole different story. 

            Running? Check. I’ve definitely got that down.

Biking? Check. I became a cyclist a few years ago when I biked across the US (before that, I didn’t even own a bike). 

            Swimming? Nope. Not even close. I cried the entire time during my one and only swim lesson as a little kid. I’m no stranger to water though. I love all forms of water sports (wake boarding, jetskiing, surfing), but swimming? I didn’t know the first thing about efficient or proper form.  

            Luckily, I had friends willing to teach me. I had a few initial lessons in 2011. But it wasn’t until January of this year, 2013, that I finally bought a real swimsuit, put on a swim cap for the first time, and actually started practicing regularly under the guidance of my friend Laura, a triathlete, and my boyfriend who swam competitively in high school. The hardest thing at first was breathing. Once I got that down, it was being able to swim consecutive laps without needing to rest. I’m a runner for crying out loud, doesn’t that mean I’m in shape? Not according to the pool.

            Over the next few months I got better, and Laura convinced me to sign up for a sprint triathlon in April. The swim was only 400 meters and it was in a pool so it was the perfect choice for my first triathlon. Still, I was terrified of the swim part. That crying little kid was still in there somewhere, and sometimes in the middle of a lap, feeling isolated and surrounded on all sides by water with nothing but my own steam keeping me afloat, I could feel her presence. When that happened, my heart would pound a million beats a minute and I would need to gasp for air. Hyperventilation isn’t exactly an ideal thing to happen when you’re in the middle of water.

Surprisingly, that first triathlon went well. I swam slower than usual though (not what you’re supposed to do in a race, I know) because I wanted to make sure I remained calm and I knew the second I felt overly tired in the water, I would start hyperventilating. It worked, and before I knew it, I was out of the pool. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and slid back into my comfort zone.

The bike and run parts were exhilarating! I had a blast the entire time. I’d never raced on the bike before and it was fun seeing how fast I could go while still pacing myself. Transitions were a rush of adrenaline because they were something completely new. I felt like I was removing and putting on gear as fast as I could but really I could have cut off quite a bit of time there. My legs felt like lead after getting off the bike, but running was like being comforted by an old friend, and the finish line came much too soon.

Inspired by my first successful experience, I signed up for another triathlon at the end of the summer. This time, it would be a 500m OPEN WATER swim! My heart pounded just at the thought of it, but the only way to get over a fear is to face it, right? I doubled my training time in the pool in preparation.

I was a mess the week before the race. I kept having nightmares about being in the middle of open water. I felt pretty silly about how scared I was of a little 500m swim. Before I knew it, it was race day and I was running into the water single-file behind other racers. The water felt comforting and warm and I took a few strokes. I couldn’t see a thing underwater! Obviously I knew this would happen, I wasn’t in a nice clear pool anymore, but it was jarring all the same. Ok, this isn’t so bad, I thought over the next few strokes, see, you were making a big deal out of nothing.

Then, like a switch had been flipped, my legs suddenly got really tired. I looked at how far I had to go – I could physically SEE the distance, unlike in a pool – and that’s when I started freaking out. What was I thinking?! I’m not a good enough swimmer for this! I was getting more tired by the second, but I couldn’t stop moving or I’d sink and it’s not like there’s a pool wall to hold onto to rest out there. The reality set in that there was nothing keeping me afloat but my own tired muscles. I felt completely stranded.

I was taking huge breaths, which meant I couldn’t put my face underwater to swim normally, and the way I was swimming was so inefficient, it was making me more tired. So, I did the only thing I could think of: backstroke. I was able to get some good deep breaths this way, then went back to freestyle. I switched between the two strokes for the rest of the swim, never fully calming down enough to keep freestyling for long. Then finally after what felt like years (and later after seeing my horrendous swim time, I can confirm that it was indeed years), my feet touched the bottom of the lake and I ran out of that water as fast as I could.

I was so upset with how the swim had gone, I BOOKED it during the bike leg. In fact, when I arrived in the transition area after the swim, all of the bikes on my bike rack were gone except for mine, and when I got back from the bike leg, they were still all gone. I spent almost the entire 10 miles the left lane – which you can only be in when you’re passing someone. With each pedal stroke I could feel myself calming down and getting more and more confident. When it was time to run I felt even better. Everyone around me was complaining about how tired they were and how hard it was to run after swimming and biking. But I was loving it. I loved every minute of the race once I was out of that water.

I ended up placing 4^th in my age group – not bad for a newbie! But the competitive side of me couldn’t help noticing that if I’d only swam two minutes faster (which I was more than capable of in a pool) I could have gotten 3^rd. My biggest mistake was not training in open water. My body was fully capable of swimming the distance, but I needed to get used to that feeling of being stranded so that my mind knew it too. 

Still, I was proud of myself for conquering a pretty big fear that day. No one but myself had forced me to get in that water, and no one but myself had gotten me through it. I can’t say I conquered the actual swim though.

But some day I will.

The Summer of Races

Since my last marathon in March, I’ve become sort of a serial racer. I wanted to include shorter races as part of my training for my fall marathon for a few reasons. Training for a marathon means a lot of long, lonely runs, so if some of those runs are races, training gets 10 times more exciting. Plus I push myself in ways I never would on a regular training run. And finally, since races are essentially my best efforts, I was hoping to use these races to track my progress.

5K

Color Rush, Purdue University

            There are so many fun 5Ks out there these days! 5Ks that involve mud, obstacles, zombies, glow sticks, scavenger hunts, you name it. And I love that they exist because they are really getting people off their couches and into a pair of running shoes. This was my first time doing a themed 5K and I was pumped. A bunch of my friends, both runners and non-runners, came out for this race on the Purdue campus, which benefitted the Make A Wish Foundation. There were various places along the course where people threw color dust on us! I tried to get as much color as I could, but we actually came out of the race with shirts that were much too white. But afterwards, they gave us our own color packets to throw at each other and this was where the real craziness began! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

        

Race for the Cure, Indianapolis, IN

            I have always wanted to do a Race for the Cure, so when I saw an ad for the Race in Indy, I was stoked. It was only a couple weeks before the race, but I signed up without giving it a second thought and raised $85. A portion of all money raised by the participants of Race for the Cure goes toward global breast cancer research and another portion is used to provide funds for screenings and treatment of local patients. There were over 21,000 participants at this event and most people raised much more than I did, so just imagine how much money the event provided for this awesome cause! And that’s just from the race in Indiana… there are Race for the Cure events in every major city in the US.

            Military Park in Indianapolis was a sea of pink on race morning. Before the 5K started, there was an opening ceremony, which included the Survivor’s Parade. This was a pretty emotional event and the person on stage reminded us that one day 100% of people diagnosed will breast cancer will be able to walk in a survivor’s parade. I signed up for the competitive 5K, which started before the 5K run/walk. There were only 500 participants in the competitive run. The start of the course took us over the White River and I just remember thinking how great I felt to be alive as the morning sun reflected off the water with the city skyline as the backdrop. Towards the end of the race I didn’t feel quite as great, but when I crossed the finish line one of the volunteers said “I think you’re like the second girl to finish!” It turned out I was the fourth so I didn’t place overall, BUT I finished 2^nd in my age group and set a new PR of 23:00!

 

10K

BTN 10K, Chicago, IL

            Believe it or not, this was my first ever 10K race.  It’s a pretty cool idea, bringing students and alumni from all the Big Ten schools together for a fun race like this, which benefitted Special Olympics Chicago. Participants received a shirt in their school colors, and there was a lot of school spirit in the air. Especially with all the crazy mascots running around.

I was nervous before the start because I’d been suffering from shin splints for most of July, so I hadn’t run in a while. At the beginning of the race, I ran past the BTN cameras while high-fiving some of the mascots, and later they showed that segment of me running on TV! Since this was my first 10K, I didn’t really know how to pace myself for this distance, and went out too fast. So, the end was really tough, but, I pushed through the agony and met my goal time of 50 minutes! And after the race... the BTN tailgate party :)

Half Marathons

500 Festival Mini-Marathon, Indianapolis, IN

            This half marathon, known to runners simply as “The Mini” is the largest half marathon in the country with 35,000 participants! What brings all these runners from all over the country to Indiana? The chance to run on the Indy 500 racetrack, of course! But, be warned, running this race well requires you to be pretty aggressive and constantly on top of your mental game. There are just so many people. To run your best, you have to be continuously planning your next move to weave around other runners. Running on the racetrack was really cool, and a lot of runners kiss the brickyard, but somehow I completely missed it! Probably because I was too busy weaving and dodging. I didn’t train specifically for this half… it had been little over a month since the Shamrock marathon, so I just let my fitness from that carry me through. And lo and behold, I PR’d by 5 minutes! Overall, I’d say it’s definitely worth experiencing this race at least once, as long as you’re not claustrophobic.

           

Mahomet Half Marathon, Mahomet, IL

            This half couldn’t have been any different from the Mini. It’s put on by a small town in Illinois and there were only 300 runners. My friends and I signed up because we figured it would be a good warm up and mental prep for the Lakefront Marathon a month and a half later. And it was! Nicole and I were both feeling uneasy about our marathon training due to injuries. But the race went really well for us so afterwards, we felt much better. The entire course was on county roads among cornfields – it was a refreshing change from racing in a city. The volunteers and aid stations were just as good, if not better than a big race, and the runners were also a little friendlier. We spotted someone wearing a Lakefront Marathon shirt and chatted with him for a while about what to expect. And another perk: I actually got to take advantage of the post-race amenities, like getting a massage!

p.s. My summer of racing also included my first sprint triathlons! I’ll write about them in a separate post.