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I oftentimes throw the word "only" around in a flippant manner. Things like, it's 100 degrees, but it's "only" a 30-minute run; there's an undertow, but it's "only" a quarter-mile swim; it's "only" a 30-pound dumbbell, it's "only" six intervals. You get the idea.
From afar, the sprint triathlon seemed simple enough -- quarter-mile swim, 10-mile bike, 5K run. I've done all of these, though not in succession, or from a competitive standpoint. I've done plenty of competitive runs -- everything from 5Ks to half-marathons. I swim laps in the pool for cross-training, and usually do a 15-mile easy bike ride once a week. Thus, these three exercises should be doable, and with a respectable time, I figured. About a month prior to the triathlon, I started training in earnest& biking a little faster, swimming in the ocean, practicing transitioning from biking to running. I even did a practice triathlon by myself about 10 days before the race.
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Entered in the Mountain Bike (Fat Tire) division for the Amelia Island event, I felt ready for race day. It's been 12 years since I appeared in my first running event, so it had been more than a decade since I felt such uncertainty and anxiety on a race day. As I walked my bike toward the big white tent on Main Beach early Saturday morning to pick up my race number and timing chip, I felt like a first-semester freshman standing in line for class assignments. I was watching the others to see where to go, what to do, but still trying to maintain my composure and act like a confident athlete. On the outside, I tried to look like Zack, but my insides were Screech.
Even though I have been a swimmer my whole life, I do not swim in the ocean over my head (Are you listening, Mom ?) -- at least not until the morning of June 20. |
Well, after completing my first triathlon on June 20, I pledge I will never, ever again preface a sprint triathlon description with the word "only." Now I realize that's as blasphemous as calling a 5K race "only." As all of us runners know, there is nothing "only" about a 5K if you're trying to break a certain time, or set a new PR. It can be quite taxing, even if it is for "only" 20 minutes.
The No. 1 event was the swim. I had been practicing in the ocean for about four weeks, so I felt moderately confident about the swim... that is, until I walked out to the beach to see the first swim marker about 150 yards offshore. During my training, I had gone into the ocean just beyond the breakers, in about 5-feet-deep water, and then swam parallel to the beach for 400-600 yards, put my feet down and walked out of the sea.