Confessions of a First Time Triathlete

This blog is a guest writer...Janet Dixon, my sidekick pedorthist proves how tough she really is. I am so proud of her....here is the story of her first triathlon!

Well folks, I finally did it. I finished my very first triathlon. I also had every possible thing go wrong today as well.....

So - I wake up at 450am. I thought hey, we are close by and since both Dennis and Claire were joining in as a cheer section for me, we can sleep in a bit longer. That was the first mistake.
Woke back up at 515am. Tummy is grumbling - so are you hungry or are you nervous? Suddenly a bowl of cheerios seemed to be the thing to do so I have at it. At this point I am pretty darn calm and ready to roll. I look for Claire and guess what - the 12 year old is still out like a lightbulb. So I chill as I hear Dennis yap at her to get up. She rises - takes a shower, we now are in human form.

Departure time scheduled for 545am. Hmmm - stomach is feeling funny. Here comes the nerves. I make one last stop to the restroom - much better. Time is now 555am.
Arrive to the race and we are guided to the overflow parking lot a block down. Darn it...should have got here earlier. My cell phone rings and it is Marybeth. I decide to mess with her and tell her I am still sleeping. She reacts, I laugh and tell her I am actually in the area.
So, rule number one - GET TO THE RACE EARLY!
Bike and accessories in tow, I head to transition. I am SO GRATEFUL, I elected to have markings done the day before at packet pickup. There was a huge line and it felt great to squeeze right past folks.
Rule number two - GET MARKINGS DONE EARLY IF OFFERED!

I head to transition and all of a sudden, I am nervous. Now remember my deal a few weeks back on getting into the unitard? Yeah...a two piece seemed to be such a better option at this point.
So I rack my bike and I am a happy girl! I find Marybeth who at this point is thinking where the hell is she and I surprise her in my zingy way. One problem, she tells me I am racked at the wrong bike rack....darn it!
Rule number three - MAKE SURE YOUR BIKE IS RACKED CORRECTLY!

Ok, so I feel pretty stupid and I am still in need of facilities - big time.
I look for Dennis and Claire and calm down. I tell myself, look nimrod, this is just to see what happens, to finish the race in one piece then look to see where I can improve for the future. Remember, I am and will complete a half ironman in less than six months
So facilities time - of course, as usual, there is a women's restroom line but not for the dudes. So unfair I thought. Finally, the visit to the facilities is complete. I feel fabulous!

The wait for the pool was interesting. Triathletes come in all shapes and sizes. I told myself to stop worring about what I looked like in my second skin. By the time September rolls around, I will have hopefully lost a few rolls of my own if you know what I mean.

The swim begins, I jump in. Water feels great! I start to swim....I am excited, I am doing this, I have propellers for feet, I am so glad to be doing this....I don't breathe! All of a sudden a foot nails me in the right side of my neck. Right where I had a neck injury. Right arm immediately goes numb. I almost call it and get out of the pool - no, I tell myself, you can manage this now breathe and move it!

Rule number four - PACE YOURSELF IN EACH LEG OF THE RACE.
After 150 yards Janet is tired....Janet can't breath right, Janet went out WAY TOO FAST! So, I flip over and backstroke the rest of the race. I don't care, I am not taking first place - I am here to finish. Ok I thought, I will pace more during swim training - I just learned to swim starting three months ago so I don't beat myself up for this.

Ah, transition! I found my bike - good sign. Wait - where is my computer at? Crap, it's in the bag. What felt like an eternity I finally found the Garman. I am feeling disorientated - I can't get the stupid Garman on my bike! So with computer in hand, I begin the ride.
Rule number five - HAVE AMPLE TIME IN TRANSITION TO ENSURE EVERYTHING IS LINED UP.

So off I go on the bike. Ah, things feel much better. As I cycle, the Garmin magically fits on the holder and I grab something to drink. YES! I watch my pace climb to 18, good - now hold it I thought. Hmm - did I fail to mention it was a very WINDY day? Oh wait, it gets better. Half way through my chain falls off! Can you believe this? Luckily, I got the oily thing back on - gross I thought. Yep - that affected my ride a bit however, the bike portion I can tell is going to always be my favorite part of a triathlon.

Transition #2
I was completely ready to jump off my bike at the right time and I did. I was impressed. When my feet hit the ground - oohhh what a weird feeling! Trying to run after cylcing is really weird. My brain was ready however my feet were not. I racked the bike - no idea if it was right or not, threw on my running visor, grabbed my running belt. SNAP - running belt and bib number detach from one another. So what, it's still hanging on by one loop - move your arse I tell myself.
Ok - so what rule are we on? Ah yes,

Rule number six - YOU MUST STAY CONSISTENT IN EACH AREA OF A TRI AND TRAIN APPROPIATELY. Yep, all those days in the pool, cycling...what about running? Hmm - my bad.
Running at this point was mute. I ran the first loop and suddenly I was tired. Oh gosh I thought to myself, I am going to walk during a measly 5k? What a hosebag I thought to myself. So, I walked a bit. Then I felt bad...then I got mad. Why didn't you prepare - what is wrong with you - if you come in last, you will let Marybeth down - where are your expectations - you are embarrasing yourself. All this past through my head then my stomach took over...I was hungry. Where is my gel? Yep - BACK AT TRANSITION! Sooo......Rule number seven - make sure you have adequete nutrition for each stage of the tri. So much for the cheerios and one goo before the swim - I want to eat. In fact, I want to chew off my right arm...I AM HUNGRY CAVEMAN GIRL....

Then I see members of the running club yelling out my name, starting running you goober I thought, you can't look that bad to your running group. So I pick it up until over the hill, I start to walk. Darn it...

Second loop felt like mile 19 of a marathon. I am amazed how hungry I am. Marybeth shows up. Springy and happy like she just woke up - note, she finished a half hour ago - she runs me in. She tells me we get a medal. We do? I didn't know that. Well, heck , I have to start running!
Now on top of starving, I mentioned previously I had a cervical injury. I lose my right index finger feeling. I don't want to stop however I fess up and tell her I have to walk. I feel like I am the biggest dope for walking. The throbbing stops, I try to run - comes back.

Finally, the last hill - I slow jog it in. I finish.
I thank Marybeth for her kindness and spirit. I look over to my right and see Dennis and in an instant, all of the insanity that happened during the race didn't matter. I find Claire - I am good. I did it...slowly, but I did it.

I will be a half ironman - you watch. It will probably scare a few people, it will surprise many. I am hooked. Next tri - no walking and I will forever have the above seven steps inbedded in my brain.

I learned today.
I am a triathlete.
I am caveman...girl!

Now go out and do something good for yourself today, I will be running a bit more...... ;)