My First Triathlon

It was spring 2006 and my friend Kerry and I were stuffing our faces with barbecue at a friend's house, talking about how we were going to get into better shape. Out of the blue, she said she wanted to compete in the upcoming Danskin Triathlon. A friend of hers had done it the year before and had a good experience.

I had heard about the Danskin Triathlon a couple years before. I worked for a newspaper and I had to write an article about a local athlete who was competing in the race. She led a training group and at the time I thought about how good it would be for me to join. But, of course, I never did.

She had barely said the words when, without even thinking, I blurted out "I want to do it too!" I should point out that, at this time, it was only six weeks before the race.

Now, to understand the absurdity of this statement, let me tell you a little about my lifestyle at the time. I smoked (though I had been trying to cut back), I went to happy hour at least one to two times a week, I didn't own a bike, my idea of "swimming" was lounging in the shallow end of the pool holding a margarita. I hadn't really run since I competed on my high school track team- 10 years earlier. I did belong to a gym but I generally only went once a week.

I may be insane, but I'm also extremely stubborn, and when I decide to do something, I rarely back out. Looking back, my friend Kerry has admitted that when she said she wanted to compete in the triathlon, she wasn't really that serious. It was more of a fleeting thought than a realistic goal. But for whatever reason, I saw her statement as a window of opportunity. I held on to it and never let go, and I dragged her along, as she cursed herself for putting the idea in my head.

The Danskin Triathlon is an annual all-female event that takes place in Austin and several other U.S. cities that raises money for breast cancer research. The race consists of a 1/2-mile swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile (5K) run. It is categorized as a "sprinter's triathlon" because the distances are shorter than Olympic or Ironman triathlons. (Olympic triathlons have a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40 km bike and a 10 km run).

I told my boyfriend the news and he was very supportive. He worked out a lot more than I did and was happy to hear I wanted to adopt a healthier lifestyle. He even went out and bought me a pair of Nike running shoes.

I registered for the race online. It cost around $100. Knowing that I was going to have to buy a bike, helmet, swimsuit, goggles and workout gear, I could already see that this could get expensive fast. I looked at some local bike shops but couldn't afford to shell out $1,000 for a new road bike. So I went on EBay and found a new road bike for around $300. I found it was somewhat difficult to find a pool to practice laps in after work. I ended up buying a two-week pass to the athletic facility on the University of Texas campus. Not only was it a nice big pool and open in the evenings, I was surrounded by student swimmers who I could watch and learn from.

I have never been a fan of running, but I am lucky to live in a city that is very runner-friendly. An array of running trails wind through shade trees, scenic parks and peaceful lakes. Once I got the motivation to put on my running shoes, it definitely helped that I was able to go to Town Lake and be surrounded by dozens of young, happy runners.

During these six weeks of training, I had several interruptions. I attended my sister's graduation in Kansas and was gone for about five days. I also moved into a new apartment, which sucked up a good week's worth of time. So really, we're looking at about a month of training time. As anyone knows who works full-time, finding the motivation to go to the gym after a long day of work is often difficult.

I did the best I could- I went for a swim one night, for a jog the next. And on the weekend I rode my bike. Sounds like the training of champions, right? But in this time, something amazing happened. I quit smoking after five years. Just like that. Somehow my "training" gave me the motivation that up until then I had been lacking.

One week before the race, Kerry and I attended a swim practice held specifically for Danskin participants. It was held in a small lake and the course was 1/2-mile long, the same we would swim on race day. - farther than I had ever swam in my life. My swim practices had taken place in a lap pool. This was a lake, with currents, buoys and a dozen people kicking and splashing around me.

Mistake number one: when you are going to swim a half-mile in a lake, don't stop at Burger King on the way and order an egg and sausage sandwich and hash browns. As I stood with my heat preparing to jump into the cold lake, my stomach felt like a 20-pound weight. If you have never experienced a swim start where there are no lanes and you are forced to start swimming with people kicking in your face and hitting you with their arms, it's an interesting experience to say the least. It's quite intimidating. I tried to stay in the back of my heat, since I was more concerned about not getting kicked than I was with finishing first.

If you've never swam a half-mile in a lake, be prepared. When you are standing in the water, looking at the course in front of you, you might as well be looking across the ocean, it looks so far. Looking back, I've probably never been so ill-prepared in my entire life. As soon as the gun sounded and I took my first stroke, I felt panicked. I wasn't used to having to watch for the buoys in between strokes to make sure I wasn't swimming in the wrong direction. I wasn't used to swimming in murky lake water, without the nice straight lane guides of a pool. I wasn't used to swimming with other people.

It didn't take long for people to start passing me, but I didn't care. All I was concerned with was making it to the finish line. I made it to the first buoy (there were eight buoys throughout the course). I had no choice - I had to grab on and catch my breath. By the time my heat reached the first buoy, I no longer had to worry about getting kicked in the face - the group had spread out and the experienced swimmers had jumped way ahead. I caught my breath and continued on. This pattern repeated itself for each buoy I passed. But finally, after about 45 minutes, I crossed the finished line. My legs felt like jelly and I had the urge to vomit. Kerry finished too and we hugged each other in congratulations. We each went home and I passed out for four hours.

Though that first swim nearly killed me, it showed me something very valuable - that I could finish. Luckily, in a triathlon, swimming is the first event. I guess this is to cut down on the number of exhausted people drowning.

The day before the race, we had to pick up our race materials. The race organizers were also hosting an orientation for first-time participants. Kerry's friend Stacy (the one who competed in the race the year before) met us for breakfast. We had hardly ordered when we began bombarding her with questions. How many people don't finish? What's the transition area like? What if I can't find my bike?

She answered all our questions and reassured us that we would be fine. She said many people try to finish the race in less than two hours - if you can do that you've done well. She told us that she herself was not in the best shape and had not trained very hard either. She calmed our nerves so we were able to finish our breakfast and left for the orientation.

We arrived at the Travis County Exposition Center to a chaotic scene of people everywhere, as well as many vendors giving away samples of protein bars, water bottles, sunscreen, etc. We picked up our pin-on race numbers for our jersey and bike, and also dropped off our bikes. We then headed to the orientation. Under the tent, hundreds of women had gathered, most of them probably just as nervous as I was. I was surprised by the variety of ages I saw - one woman was in her 70s! A lot of the women didn't even look like they were in very good shape! This made me feel a lot better.

As far as getting me pumped up for the race, the orientation was by far the best - better than books I had read or people I had talked to. During the gathering, speakers included a cancer survivor and a woman who had competed in the race the last 15 years. They talked about what we could expect during the race, including tips on the bike course and challenges we might face in the transition area. But what stood out more than anything was the sense of support and camaraderie and love that was under that tent. There was no sense of competitive rivalry or judgment. It made me feel as though I was taking part in something truly magical.

The night before the race, I was a nervous wreck. I was terrified I was going to forget something. I decided that my tiny goggles were too flimsy for the race, so I went to Academy and bought some open-water goggles. Even though I had dropped my bike off the day before, I hadn't yet attached the water bottle holder (or even taken the holder out of the package to figure out how to attach it.) I hadn't realized that it would require screws and a screwdriver. I pinned my number to my jersey, made sure I had all my Gatorade and power gels ready, packed my bike and swim gear and went to bed.

The next morning I awoke at 4:45 a.m. We had to be at the race site by 6:30 a.m. to check in. Traffic was horrible. Everyone had arrived at the same time and the cars were backed up for miles, waiting to get into the Expo Center. Some girls got out and just started walking. Once we finally made it in, we ran to the shuttle bus and got in line. We barely made it in time.

Once at the race site, I found my bike and attached my water bottle holder. I got my number written on my arms and legs by one of the volunteers and affixed my timing chip to my ankle. On the way to the site, I had downed a bottle of Gatorade. Unfortunately, once I got set up I really had to pee. There were quite a few porta-potties but apparently every other girl had done the same thing because the lines went on forever. I was about to have a real accident when suddenly I heard my name. I looked over to see Kerry standing in front of one of the lines, holding a place for me.

Because she is a couple years older, Kerry was in the heat before mine. While we waited for our heats to be called, we got in the water and swam some practice laps. Fortunately, the water was quite warm (another advantage to living in Austin). None of our friends or family had arrived yet. Finally, they called Kerry's heat. I cheered her on as she began her swim. And then it was my turn.

As I stood in the water, surrounded by about 30 other women all wearing identical red swim caps, I tried to prepare myself. I had no idea what to expect. Would I be able to finish? I still had not practiced doing all three events together. Not knowing anyone around me, I suddenly felt very alone. What was I doing? This was insane! Still, my boyfriend and family were nowhere in sight.

I heard the gun and slowly and steadily, I began swimming. I tried to block out everyone else around me. One stroke at a time. Don't try to be fast. Just try to finish. It didn't take long before I realized possibly my biggest mistake of the whole thing: I hadn't tested out the goggles I had just bought the night before. Almost as soon as I began swimming, they started to leak. And this time, there were no buoys to hold onto. I kept on swimming, unable to see, but finally I had to turn over on my back. Floating and kicking my legs, I emptied the water out of my goggles.

Luckily there are many "swim angels" that sit in canoes on the swim route. Anytime a swimmer has an emergency or needs a rest, all she has to do is raise her hand and an "angel" will come to her rescue. I had to call upon an angel so that I could readjust my goggles. A kind old man in a canoe floated to me and I grabbed on to the side of the boat. I adjusted the goggles, thanked him, and continued on. They held for a little bit, but soon they were leaking again. I had no choice but to continue turning over to my back so that I could empty out the water. As I swam, women from the heat after mine started to pass me, but I didn't care. One stroke at a time. The shore looked so far away. Slowly, but surely, I reached it. It took me 32 minutes.

As the water became shallower and I began to walk onto the shore, the adrenaline rush hit me. I started runing through the transition area to the bikes. My legs felt like jelly and I was out of breath and my head felt like it was going to explode but I didn't even think about walking. As I exited the water, I heard my name being called. I looked over to see my boyfriend and my family cheering me on. What a boost!

I made it to my bike, pulled on my tank top and bike shorts and tennis shoes. In hardly anytime at all, I was on my bike and out of the transition area. The bike ride was my favorite part. I was able to catch my breath during the flat parts, get rehydrated and eat a gel packet for some extra energy. The scenery was really pretty and riding on the highway in the country looking out over the countryside was truly invigorating. It didn't take long, however, before we hit the hills. Soon I was changing gears and peddling as hard as I could uphill, the peddles slowly moving and me pushing with everything I had.

At one point during the bike ride, I came up behind my friend Kerry, who was in the heat before me. I had managed to catch up with her. She was struggling on her mountain bike. She had borrowed it from a friend and hadn't spent much time riding it. In that moment, I was glad I had spent the money for a road bike, which is much lighter than a mountain bike. I gave her some encouraging words and kept on going.

As I approached the transition area, I could hear the crowds cheering. I felt amazingly good. I jumped off my bike and walked it to my assigned spot. Again, I heard my boyfriend and family cheering for me. They had been waiting near the transition area for me to start my run. I pulled off my bike helmet and started for the run. I passed my family and my sister-in-law gave me a high five.

I started out running pretty hard. I had brought a Power Bar which I thought I would eat, but my mouth was too dry and it was too hard to chew while running so I threw it away. I didn't make it very far until I started losing steam, fast. It was getting later in the morning and the temperature was rising. I was no longer wet from the swim portion due to the bike ride. I stopped running and started walking. I walked for awhile and caught my breath and then tried running again. My legs felt like lead. I had no energy. I had hit "my wall".

Much of our run was on a trail that winded through trees. At one point, however, we came into an open clearing where many people had gathered to cheer. It was here that I saw all my friends and family cheering me on. Their encouragement really meant the world to me and I started running again. They could see how tired I was but they kept telling me I could do it.

Toward the end of the run portion, I really started to crash. I just wanted to lie down on the ground. I could hardly lift my feet off the ground. But I kept going. One step at a time. As I kept going, complete strangers standing by the road clapped and cheered me on.

Finally, I could hear it- the cheers of the finish line. The announcer calling out the names of the finishers. I was almost there. I started running. I decided I would push through the pain and run to the end. I rounded a corner and then I could see it: the finish line. It looked so wonderful! I was breathing so hard and every step was a struggle. As I got closer, my friends and family were there again, cheering me on. Finally, I crossed over the line. I had finished.

I don't think I've ever felt so exhilarated and exhausted at the same time. I saw my boyfriend and gave him a huge hug. I could tell that he was really proud of me. It meant so much that my friends and family had come to support me. It really was one of the best moments of my life. My time was two hours, nine minutes.

I was surprised that Kerry had not yet finished. We waited and, 45 minutes later, she made it. She looked as tired as me, and just as happy.

Looking back, I can see that I made some major mistakes when it came to my triathlon training. But I learned from my mistakes and this year I'll be even better. This year's event will take place June 9-10, again at Decker Lake. This year, I will start training months in advance, not weeks. And I'm going to encourage all my female friends to participate. Nothing can make you feel so alive as to push your body to its absolute limit. It makes you realize you can accomplish more than you thought. With a little dedication and perseverance, anyone can become a triathlete.

Triathlon Tips:

1) Get a training buddy or join a training group. Working out is much easier when you have someone to do it with.

2) Test out all your gear and get everything together a week before the event. Do a test run to make sure you aren't forgetting anything. This will keep you from freaking out the night before the event.

3) Don't eat a big breakfast! You will feel like crap when you start your swim. Eat something small with protein - a peanut butter sandwich or some scrambled eggs with toast. And stay hydrated!

4) Invite your friends and family on race day! Their cheering and support will give you the extra boost you need.