Welp, I tackled my first "multi-sport" race this AM, and lemme tell ya, that was a doozie. Riding a bike just ain't the same as when you were little. This was much more treacherous. And painful. And frustrating. But fun??!
I guess I could have already categorized myself as a "multi-sport" athlete (I <3 saying that I'm an "athlete"). This past Spring, on the coercing of my husband, I took up swimming. And I took to it swimmingly! I really enjoyed getting in the water and the relaxing workout that it provided. Since then, all I've heard is "now you just have to get a bike." I hear this about ummm...3-5x per month. We have had the "you need to get a bike convo" a lot. And believe me, I've thought about it. I even went so far as to go to a bike store in Austin and get fitted for a bike. I chickened out. An entry level road bike in my size (43 Petite...) with gear is about 10 Benjamins. Nope. I can think of multiple things I would like to purchase with that much moolah. A bike...mmmm...not so much. So I haven't jumped into this whole Duathlon (run + bike) or Triathlon thing.
Now, today, there was a local Duathlon taking place, and for the past few weeks, I've been looking for a partner to happily do the bike portion for me. I wanted a teammate. But a teammate was not to be found. So this week, my good friend Javier Vazquez (who always comes to the rescue), offered to lend me his wife's bike. I was reluctant, even backed out and told him no. However, Mr. Vazquez does not take "no" lightly. Especially when I told him that my last real experience on a bike was circa 1994 on my pink and teal huffy. He simply told me, "come on, now it's not a race, its a quest." A quest sounded interesting, so I relented. Yesterday, Kristofor and I went to pick up the bike. After about half an hour of moving the seat down (we actually had to cut the seat post so I could adequately reach the pedals) and adjusting handlebars, I took off down the street as Javier and Kristofor said "it's like watching a little kid ride on two wheels for the first time." Great, that's exactly what someone who was about to ride 18 MILES wants to hear. Alas, we took the bike home, and I took it for a short little spin around the neighborhood last night.
And then of course I had to look stylish on my new borrowed bike (I borrowed a helmet too...). So my loving husband bought me a very trendy pair of tri shorts and a top for me to wear on this morning's debut race (Did I say that he really wanted me to do this?). Is it bad that my outfit was my favorite part? Naaaahhhhh....that outfit was totally the best part :)!
This morning, we rode over to the soccer complex. Kristofor showed me how to "rack" my bike and instructed me to put my helmet on first when I came into the transition area. Got it coach. Now this race started with a 5k, then you bike 18 miles, then finished up with a 5k. We lined up for the start, and since running is my thing, I wasn't nervous. There in the back of my mind though, the thoughts were a turnin' about what would happen after I finished that first 3 mile run. I have no clue how fast I ran, although, I have a feeling it was pretty quick. When I came back into the parking lot, there they were. The bikes. And that pink trek was waiting for me.
Sooo, I couldn't get my helmet on. Yeah. Sounds simple, but I was shaking (nerves...), and I couldn't loosen the chin strap. I lost at least 4 minutes trying to put my purple helmet on (and it never was quite right). Naturally, I said my first 3 bad words of the morning, loud enough for one of the helpers to hear and laugh. Helmet on, I started to walk the bike toward the mount area, and I hopped on and away I went. About a mile in, I thought, "this isn't so bad...this breeze is kinda nice...this could be relaxing." Then I realized for the first time that I was sharing the road with cars. I was on the shoulder and cars were buzzing past me on this road at speeds of over 45 mph. Slightly panicked, I tried not to think about how I could fall off and slide under a car and get smashed like a bug. But seriously, I was sweating. Not from heat, but from fear. And I was all alone. Seemed no one was biking my speed (med-slow...slow). Crossing railroad tracks allowed my first all out shriek. AHHHHH! If anyone was behind me, they probably peed their pants laughing at me. Then the road got kind of rough and gravel-ey, and well, things started to hurt. Bike seats are no comfy sofa. And that padding in my tri shorts left much to be desired. OWWWWAAAAA. More swear words. I passed Kristofor about mile "I was swearing to NEVER EVER DO THIS AGAIN" and even yelled that to him as he passed me and told me I was almost halfway there. Halfway. You're kidding. AHHHHHHHH!
I made it to the turn around at the half way point, and well, I am not good at turning. Like, not good. WIIIIIDDDDEEEE turn around and off I went on the back 9. I was doing ok, but at mile "I'm about to throw this bike in the ditch and run the last 7 miles," I hit a bowling ball sized pot hole and it messed up the gears. I was pedaling, and not going anywhere. MORE bad words and I hopped off and was walking the pink Trek. Alone, I had no clue how long this would take me. Another cyclist came up to me, and after jiggling my handlebar a bit, it clicked into a new gear and I could pedal again. It was tougher, but I didn't dare change it for fear I'd really be in trouble. When I pulled into the parking lot, my smiling parents and husband were there to cheer me on. I was just happy to rack the bike and relieved it was over. PHEEEWWWW!
I started my last 5k run, and although I felt kind of wonky when I started, I acclimated to being back on foot pretty quick. Without even realizing it, I picked up the pace, A LOT. Even so much that some friends that had come in from the bike a good 10 minutes before me, only had about 2 minutes on me when we finished. I made up almost 8 minutes or so on the run. Not too bad. I came into the finish with a time of 2:17:21, and I was pleased. I was hoping for 3 hours, so that was definitely a win for me! I was still saying, "never again" though. And thennnnn.....
I won a trophy. And trophies always make me happy, so then I liked my bike a little more. And it made it all worth it. Kristofor won a trophy too! YAHOO!!! I know the trophy was only possible because I made up so much time on my runs...but I'll take it!
So the moral of the story is, I'm not sure I'm a multi-sport kinda girl. I may try a Sprint Tri on the Island in a couple of weeks. Its a shorter bike, and the swim is doable. We'll see how that goes. What makes me happiest is, I feel like today, with the foray into doing biking AND running, I can actually call myself an athlete. And this is unbelievable to me. A girl who never played a sport, never caught the ball, never made the team, is now at almost 30 years old, an athlete. I am no longer the little girl that signed up to play soccer because the outfit was cute, and sat on the sidelines. I am now the girl getting in the mix of things, even if my outfits are still cute. So what if that was my favorite part! A HUUUGGGEEE thanks to Javier and Claudia Vazquez for generously allowing me to borrow their bike. MUCHOS GRACIAS!
This week, more running, and then I'm a goin' out of town because the bestie is getting hitched! Rock and Roll San Antonio is coming right up!
Thanks for cheering me on!
Lacy
No comments:
Post a Comment