The Triathlon, Part One

Celebration Dinner- My Wonderful TEAM IN TRAINING!

I spent all day today resting and am still feeling rotten.  The medication for my infection has the lovely little side effect of making me want to puke!  But, as I’ve been resting, I’ve been re-living the triathlon and am ready to write about it!  It was such a HUGE event that I’m going to write about it in three parts, which makes sense, since there are three events.

Part One- The Swim

I did not sleep well the night before as I was quite nervous.  I probably got about 4 hours or so of sleep.  I woke up at about 5:00 charged up and ready to go.  I had a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, then brought along a peanut butter, honey, and banana bagel sandwich.  We left the house and our first stop was the bike to run transition point, where I set up all of my running gear.  We then made the half hour drive out to the lake and got there around 7:00.  The race was due to start at 9:00.  The thought of a 2 hour wait really stressed me out and I knew that I could not stand around the transition area getting more and more nervous.  So, I made sure everything was set up for my bike, then I took a walk along the shore.

The day before I did a ritual under some trees along the shore- the same type of thing I did at the coast.  This time I left some special objects- the shells, the feathers, the rocks, and some herbs.  I had also sprinkled some herbs into the lake.  When I got back to this spot, everything was still set up.  I sat and meditated for a long time and I got super calm and happy and so excited!  I felt like the lake was friendly and all fear of the water was gone for me.  What a miracle!  For this race, I had to swim into the middle of the lake.  I’m the person that always needed to swim in the lane next to the wall at the pool, and the person that swam off course in the lake because I needed to stay near shore.  Today I found myself ready and looking forward to swimming this course!

After my meditation, I walked back to the transition area where there was a lot of activity with announcements being made and tips being given and teammates wishing each other luck.  The nervousness came back some and I had to obsessively go to the bathroom about 5 times.  As race time got closer, the bathroom lines got longer.  I had planned on eating my sandwich about half an hour before the race to give me a boost of energy, but I was so nervous that my stomach hurt and I could only nibble at it.

Finally, finally, it was time to go to the water.  I was in the third wave, with each wave starting 5 minutes apart.  I was able to get into the water for a few minutes to get used to the temperature.  It was cold, but felt refreshing and wonderful!  Then, it was time to go!  I held back to avoid the crowd, and noticed that about 5 other people were also holding back.  The course was marked by large orange markers (3 or 4 of them) and the only way I could do this race was to just focus on the orange marker right in front of me and imagine just swimming to that one marker.  For the first marker, I was able to maintain good swimming form and I didn’t panic.  I noticed someone nearby who seemed to be struggling- she was on her back, on her side, and even doggy paddling.  What disturbed me about this was that she was keeping up with me!  I had to really talk to myself and tell myself that it’s ok that I’m a slow swimmer.  The line from the Tortoise and the Hair kept going through my mind, “Slow and steady wins the race” only I replaced “wins” with “finishes”!

On my way to the second marker I started to get a little tired, but I decided not to rest until I got there.  I made it and had a little rest by swimming on my back.  At this point I was in the middle of the lake.  On the outer edges there were motor boats, jet skis, and kayaks keeping an eye on us.  The deal is if at any point we wanted out, we just needed to raise up both hands and a jet ski would ride us back in (referred to as The Ride Of Shame by some).  I was determined that I was NOT going in on a jet ski, as that would mean not being able to finish the race.  At this point, what really bothered me was that when I put my face in the water, I could taste and smell the fumes from the boats.  This made me sad to think of such a beautiful lake being so polluted by motors that I could actually taste it.  I had to do a mental trick of telling myself that I was just imagining it, and I was able to keep on going.  About this time, the wave of people 5 minutes behind me began to catch up and pass me.  The fastest swimmers zoomed by me and began crashing into my feet and bumping me with their arms.  I sucked in some water and could feel panic trying to come up.  I took a little detour and swam off course, to the outer edge, to avoid this wave.  I got onto my back again to calm myself.  Then, I kept going.

Finally, finally, I reached the last marker and was able to turn in towards shore and the finish line!  That last stretch felt so long!  I was exhausted and my arms didn’t want to keep going.  About half way between the marker and the shore, it finally sunk in that I was going to complete this swim!  I was so emotional I almost started crying in the water.  I was achieving something that all my life I thought was impossible.  Again, I pushed those thoughts aside and just focused on breathing and swimming until the water got sandy and I could see the bottom!  I cannot adequately describe the feeling of walking out of the water, up the boat ramp, which was covered in red carpet, and under the arch of the finish line.  I WOO HOOED under the arch and ran to my transition area, in total shock that I had just completed the swim.  The swim alone was enough of a miracle to satisfy me for life.

I was so happy to see my beautiful daughters, and my mom and brother cheering me on at the finish line!  My Team In Training coaches were there too, all cheering me on.  In the transition area, a competitive fire lit up in me.  I had planned on taking it easy, just focusing on finishing the triathlon.  But during the swim, I didn’t pass anyone, and I got passed by many, many people.  Now, I wanted to pass someone!  I quickly got changed and hopped on my bike.  Off I road with a huge grin on my face and a burst of energy, as if I hadn’t just swam almost a mile!

Just Before the Swim

Finished!

A PEAK LIFE EXPERIENCE!

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