Putting the FUN back into TRIATHLON

Nothing seems to have gone the way that I have planned lately and the plan has been very sketchy to begin with, but each day I wake up and I have a general idea of what I need to accomplish.  Lately, I have been relying on my planner, making daily lists, and checking items off.  As with life, things do not always go as planned and you just roll with it and make the most of the opportunities that present themselves.  This weekend I had the ITU triathlon on my race calendar in San Diego.  I was planning on racing and watching the pros with some friends and the trip fell apart and I was going to be on my own.  At first, a triathlon retreat sounded rather relaxing (much like a spa retreat that most women would choose with a twist).  Then, I saw the nice resort that my friend had booked and thought it was a shame to go it alone.  I tried to recruit a spontaneous triathlon friend at the last minute.  Who would not drop everything to go watch the pros and have a fun beach weekend?  No luck there, but my husband and son decided at the last minute to join me.  My husband was returning from work in California at midnight would have to get up early to leave at 5am the next morning.  I packed a bag for him and we made it work.

I drove most of the way so my husband could try to catch up on some zzzzzs.  We were trying to check into our hotel before all the road closures were to begin for the first pro race.  We got checked in and made our way to the venue.  I picked up my race packet and we went back to the room to rest before the women's pro race began.  I had never watched a live pro triathlete event and usually the pros race along side the age group athletes.  ITU hosts a series of pro races and they are very exciting to watch.....but don't blink or you might miss something!  My friends Paul and Carrie joined us and it was nice to see a familiar face.  We racked our bikes and went our separate ways for dinner and to turn in early.

Happy Turtle Plugging Along

Back to the pro races......the women raced on Friday afternoon and the men raced on Saturday afternoon after the age group event.  The race was an Olympic distance draft legal event, a much different sport than us common folk are used to!  The swim took place is Bonita Cove in Mission Bay at Bonita Park (near the roller coaster as a reference point).   It was being filmed and had great commentary.   The officials march out first followed by athlete introductions, a moment of silence for the Boston Marathon Bombing victims, and the national anthem.  There were Olympians, veterans, and newbies from all over the world.  It was really cool to see top athletes from all over the world competing for a prize purse to support their lifestyle of training for a living.  Even at the pro level, you see all different body types.  Let's face it, the only way to win a triathlon is to be a strong runner though many do come from swimming backgrounds.  For the swim, the athletes pick a spot on the blue carpet and when the gun goes off they make a running start to the water.  For a moment I thought I was at a track meet.  They swim side by side (50 athletes wide) out to the first yellow buoy.  It was interesting to watch the athletes pick their starting spots.  The women seemed to prefer the far right side of the mat and the men the far left which made more sense to me as you would be on the inside of the first turn.  Once the first turn was made the athletes were swimming single file drafting off the person in front of them to the third buoy where they made another left turn and returned to shore.  They ran out of the water, around another buoy placed on the beach and then had to complete another lap!  I watched carefully to observe how a running start works.  They sprint in and dive into the water.  The swim was exciting and fast and very close together.  What happened next amazed me.  The pros run full speed out of the water while taking off their wetsuits and within seconds they put their helmet on and jump on their bikes.  I did not really get to see how they manage to slide their sandy, wet, sticky feet into their shoes on their pedals.  They are in, they are out....no fumbling...no monkeying around!  The bike portion is like a criterion race.  They complete 8 loops and ride in a large pack.  Both the men and women had a few packs and a few straggler.  The athletes just have to stay with the pack and take their turn pulling the group.  A few athletes were out due to crashes, equipment problems, or just having a bad day.  They were fast and furious on the bike.  By the final lap, they fight for the lead position.  The bike to run transition was just as fast.  The dismount on the fly (the lead males bike when flying and flipping in the air which added to the thrill).  Slip on the running shoes and take off the helmet and GO!  The next few minutes tells all.  The women had a small pack fighting for the podium with Jorgensen from the US taking first and the Olympic Gold medal winner, Brownlee from the UK dominated the run and easily took the win.   The stands for the men's race were full and going crazy.  It was much like a car race with all the colorful tri-suits, names plastered across their name and country painted across their tight gluts and a roaring crowd every time an athlete passed the grand stands along with exciting play by play commentary and video of the athletes out on the course.  It was a really great experience and FUN to be s spectator.

Now for the Age Group Race.  When we dropped our bikes off at transition, I was surprised to find a very very long transition.  I was very close to the bike in and out, but very far from the swim in and run out port.  We quickly realized that all athletes had to put as much distance in and that I did not have to run very far with bike shoes on, so all was good with my spot.  I was more tired then hungry that night, but we made our way to the restaurant at our hotel.  I was not too concerned about pre-race meal since this was going to be a short race.  The Olympic Distance is short in comparison to a half or full Ironman, so I was not too worried about having enough calories.  Something was better than nothing in my stomach as it was not a very triathlete friendly menu.  I opted for a vegetarian risotto dish, organized my bags, and hit the sack.  I was out like a light.  I got up a few minutes before my alarm and was so happy to be close to the transition so I could go through my full morning rituals in my hotel room and take care of most of potty needs in luxury instead of at the race!  Then I grabbed my bags and headed to transition.  I pumped my tires up, set up my gear, talked to my neighbors, and tried to figure out the swim course.  My age group was the 3rd wave which was an awesome treat because most races put the old ladies last.  The sun was rising over the bay while the National Anthem was being played and I watched the first 2 groups start.  I decided to position myself near the back and to the right which would take me directly to the first yellow buoy.  Most other people were on the left, so I had very little traffic to negotiate in the water.  I also ran in slowly and opted to just lower myself into the water.  I was expecting cold water, but was pleasantly surprised the water felt very comfortable.  The salty taste took a bit of getting used to.  The water was pretty calm but I felt like it was helping me along.  After making a left at the first buoy, there were giant orange spotting buoys until you got to the big yellow turning buoys.  The orange buoys made spotting a piece of cake and I mostly breathed on my right side since we had to keep them to our right.  I felt a bit smoother then I have in the open water in a while.  I did not pass my usual number of different color caps since the groups in front of us were the youngest competitors and the oldest men (though I did catch a few old men backstroking).  I was slowly realizing that California has a lot of strong triathletes.  But I was happy with my swim and I was under 29 minutes when I peaked at my watch.  My transition was fine and it took about 4 or  5 miles to get loosened up on the bike which went out to Sea World Drive and around Fiesta Island.  The bike was pretty flat and fast and I felt even stronger on the second loop.  There were a few no passing zones and very sharp turns and I handled them all pretty well and then with about a mile to go I felt: bump bump bump and I looked at the road and it was rough, but the bump sound did not stop and I yelled out to someone on a turn if my back tired was flat and he said yes.  I was going to try and ride in on it because I was so close to the finish, but my tire slide out on a sharp turn and I decided it was too unsafe and I did not want to destroy my tire.  I usually practice tire changing before my races.  I had not practiced since Ironman, but I knew I had everything I needed.  I was proud of myself for easily and quickly changing the tire and then when I was ready to put it back on, I had trouble getting it back in place.  Finally a police officer came up and held my bike while I struggled to pop it in place, but the chain had dropped somewhere along the line behind the chain stop.  An official came over and struggled because they are not allowed to help, but there would be no way for me to continue without help.  (I promised him I would not win).  His first diagnosis was that there was no way to get the chain back in place without taking the rings off and then he gave it one last try because he saw that I was not giving up.  He finally was able to maneuver the chain back on.  In the meantime many people were passing by and my hopes for a good time had just slipped away.  In a strange way, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time (flat in a race) and was not too upset that this race wanted to test my toughness.  I was just happy to be able to go park my bike and get out on the run course.  I lost 15-20 minutes on the tire mishap, but I was excited to just go out and run.  I managed to get back down to a 10 minute pace after a year of slowing down on my running and not being able to turn that around.  It is hard to judge how hard to push at a pace you can sustain for the entire run and without cramping.  I went a comfortable pace where I could hear myself breathing a little hard.  I enjoyed running along the water and remembered to enjoy the scenery.  I did not struggle to finish and was able to finish strong.   Maybe my 20 minute break helped make the run more pleasant too.  Another cool thing on the run was to be passed up by some amazing para-triathletes.  I was passed by single and double amputees with above and below the knee amputations and great modern prostheses and a few wheelchair runners.  I was so grateful that technology has allowed these people the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.  I could not imagine my life without triathlon and I was so happy they could experience it (and kick my butt too).


This race made me feel happy despite the few moments of disappointment that my smooth race was interrupted (and might have been a PR) and reminded me that triathlons are FUN.  It is not necessary to go 140 miles to feel good about yourself.  The pressures of finding time and energy to train 20 hours a week is gone.  I was happy to compete once again in the distance that first got me hooked.  You have to find the fun in triathlon or you won't continue.  For me, FUN was just what the tri doctor ordered.  Yes, there will still be longer events, but I gave myself permission to enjoy the sport again and let go of the obsession that longer is better.  Though I do like to get as many miles for my buck as I can when I am paying to swim, bike and run (all activities I can partake in for free).  It is also a lot of FUN to travel to a destination and compete on an unfamiliar course and enjoy the scenery.  It was FUN to have my family with me to enjoy it.  It was really FUN to watch the pro races.  I hope to repeat this event again and again!


REMEMBER TRIATHLETES JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN!  That is why we do it.