Swim
Bike
Run
Yeah baby!!!!!!!!!!
Ok....so, the triathlon is over and the wings have been eaten and pizza is on tap for sometime this week. Mmmm
So, I made the trek to Austin and Saturday night I learned something....do all the shaving you need/want to do actually 2 days before the event. I was up late the night before, but in all honesty...I couldn't sleep anyway, so I am glad I slept well the days before the event.
A few things....
The swim was 800 meters (half a mile)
The bike was 11.2 miles
The run was a 5k (3.1 miles)
So, I set up my bike in transition area around 6:15ish and it was quicker than I anticipated and then my group just sorta hung out and got bored and was ready to go, and we couldn't go. HAHA Anyway, it was good times and it gave me time to check out some of the other "Clydesdale's" and lemme see....if I could beat them. I know there was some that I did beat, and I did get beat by some of them, it wasn't about beatin' all of em or whatever, opposed to coming in at my goals set for myself.
Essentially, the goal I did not reach was my swimming goal.
Here is what happened: So, this is the first time I have ever done an open water swim. On the way out to the first bouy, it was easy, I lined up with the Sun coming up over the water and you knew you were going straight if you couldn't see. Then on the first left turn, I was going pretty straight, then all of a sudden, I was what I assume was close to 50m off course. Needless to say, I zig'd then I had to zag back. Then the left turn around bouy #2 and I had to try and motor to make up for the extra time I just added because of the first zig/zag. So, I did it and I made it past the first small bouy and all of a sudden I look up again and I did it again....another zig, thus makin' me have to zag. GOOD GRIEF I said to myself in the water, and as I got closer others got closer as well, and I got a foot or a hand or something in my side and that was a breathe taker to say the least, but no worries, I have my feet on the ground and I am pullin' myself out of the water and runnin to Transition 1 area.
So, something not anticipated or known was that the swim to T1 was in the ball park of 200yards through the grass and in the actual transition area they had stickers and wood chips. That stuff hurts man, and it was longer than I anticipated not to mention the run to T1 was uphill....yeah yeah, uphill (both ways), barefoot, (no snow) but there was plenty of stickers. :)
I knew I had to make up time on the bike, so I did my best to get on and off the bike as quickly as possible and while I was on the bike I did my best to hammer to the best of my ability. The course was hilly, but I took advantage of the downhills. On one hill, I actually got up to 38mph. It was awesome, and maybe a little scary too, but I kept it going and did my best to use my momentum for the uphills. One hill was so long and steep, as I approached the peak, I was only going 9mph ... and I was still passing people up. I can for sure say, I got blown away in the swim by many. In the bike ...some people passed me by, but I for sure passed many more people on the bike than those that passed me. It was awesome and I did well on the bike, I exceeded my goal there. Then I rounded the turn off of my bike then I hear my brother rootin' me on. I wasn't sure if he was gonna come or not, but he and his family sure did come and it was great to hear he and my nephews rootin' for me! I got off of the bike and made it into T2 and I smoked this transition time and began my run.
THE RUN: Now it is right at 9am, and the run is an "in a mowed field" run. Another thing I have not trained for... I have done mostly track and on occasion paved road time for running.... Ever jog down hill? It kinda hurts....especially after biking for 35 minutes. Anyway, the sweat begins to really fall, and you can actually hear it...imagine every foot step sounding like squish squish, squish squish, squish squish....My feet, shoes, socks...yeah, they are totally soaked.
Now, that brutal down hill is over, and oh my goodness, here comes a pretty long UPHILL. All I really wanted to do was start walking, but I kept on lookin' at my watch, and knowing I wanted to finish in the 90 minute ball park, I kept on saying to myself...."DO NOT STOP!"; "You can't stop running"; "come on...get after it!"... "Keep goin' Johnny!" I am not sure I have ever mentioned this, as I do my best to remain as positive as possible....all that to say, I really do not enjoy running...AT ALL! I would imagine it was somewhere along the half way point in the run that I really got hot and began to question a few things, but as I kept on goin' up that hill. I finally finished and here are all of my times you can look at via this link: http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=62682592&rsID=81125&orgID=216392
According to my watch, I finished in 1:31:24 (but my chip time according to that link is faster, so I will take that time)...haha
A few things to consider:
As I was going up that long hill during the run, I probably told myself to not stop running at least a thousand times, that along with one foot in front of the other, keep workin', .... I think you get the point of tryin' to self motivate. I have had, at times, during this 9 week process some training sessions with friends that have either run with me or biked with me or swam with me, but all in all .... I would say 90 to 95% of the training I did was all by myself. I learned for the first time in my life to self motivate, and it has not been easy...sometimes I would put it off for a few hours and I would pay for it by having to swim in the heat, or bike in the heat or something like that, and towards the end my body was so tired, I would maybe try and find an excuse to not do it, but as soon as I showed up I would handle my business and get it done and then go home or wherever I needed to be. I think triathlon's are a lot like relationships, whether it is a friendship, or something deeper, it takes a lot of work, it takes dedication, and it takes a process of decisions made to make it all work. Lately, I have obsessed over this triathlon (not necessarily a good thing) and my business (Keepers Of the Grill) has suffered because of it. Part of that too, is that I have worked so hard on it in the past and I have not really seen the fruit I would like to see it bear as well, so it was much easier for me to sort of put off doing something extra for it. As I was going up that hill in the run, I realized I need to work harder at it if I want it to be a success and figure out a way to make it appeal to others in order for them to "buy into the idea".... So, I anticipate I will do another triathlon, I am not sure I will ever do anything more than a sprint as I really do not enjoy running that much, although maybe an Olympic distance with a shorter run (when the weather is not so hot) may be tolerable. I also think to do a Team Tri with a super fast swimmer (that can swim straight) and with a runner that can run really fast....I will do my best on the bike. That could wind up being pretty fun.
I tell the story, and share the pix to reemphasize a few things....this being the main: If you really want something, YOU are going to have to put in the work to achieve YOUR goal(s). Sure you may need some help along the way, but all in all, YOU are going to have to do ALL of the time. 10 months ago, I looked in the mirror and stepped onto a scale and I weighed 270 pounds. I used to be a college athlete and I have a Kinesiology degree.... I KNOW BETTER! I changed my life and my lifestyle and I made a decision to become a better me and look like the kid I was when I reported to camp when I was 22yrs old. The day I reported to camp, I'm not sure why I remember this, but I do, I weighed 218 pounds <-- (my goal weight)...the Wednesday before my Triathlon, I tipped the scales at 216 and I beamed from ear to ear that day. And even today, as I know I put in the time, and the result was VICTORY!
Special thanks go to Jeff and Jane for being there throughout the whole entire process and for running with me a few times, to Fergz for counting swim laps for me that one time I had to do a monster swim, to Scott "BIG HACK" Smith for swimming with me and biking with me at times, and for Alyssa <-- BIG HACKS main squeeze for swimming at times too, I can't begin to number or name all of you that have just sent me notes of encouragement, and a special thanks to Dinah Jane for doing that gawd awful 4 mile run with me and for being there with me and takin' pix and holdin' Max at the same time.... You were and are a trooper.
This is Johnny Tsunami signing off and reminding you:
Believe in yourself and anything is possible!
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