August 26: My First Triathlon

Today was the day, the day of the Island Lake Triathlon in Brighton, Michigan. I started my day bright and early, waking up at 4:30am. After enjoying a bowl of cereal and a large bottle of Accelerade, I drove 1 hour to Island Lake State Park. I arrived there just as the sun was rising; it was a beautiful start to the day.

I am happy I arrived early. I was able walk around, get my bearings, and check in. Upon check in, I had to subject my body to some graffiti, a norm in the triathlon world. A volunteer carefully drew my race number with permanent ink on my shoulders and one of my legs. The other leg was saved for my age (why people need to know that, I'm not sure...). I was also issued a RFD race chip, which I wrapped around my ankle.

After that ritual, I headed over to the transition area, where I set up my bike, my gear, my water and my nutrition. It's important to get the transition area set up properly so that time isn't wasted when going from one sport to the next.

Shortly after I was done, I saw my friend and co-worker Alex, who had also selected this race as his first triathlon ever. I was glad he was there, it brought me comfort that I wasn't the only "newbie" on the block. I also saw a good friend from college, Angelika. She had done one before, so she was able to offer some tips.

The race started at 8am for the men, and 8:02 for the women. (There were over 300 registered racers for this event.) 10 minutes before the start, I got on my wet suit and headed for the water to warm up. I didn't swim far, just enough to get used to the water. 8:00 was approaching quickly. I looked out to see my route, which was triangular with two large, yellow bouys in the distance as our markers.

Eminem's Lose Yourself was filling the air as anticipation mounted. The men headed toward the two green bouys, where the waist-high swim start would take place. The women waited close behind the group of men. 8:00 hit, and the men were off. The group of women moved up to the line. Before I knew it, I was off and swimming.

The beginning of the swim was just downright crazy. I didn't realize how much I was pushing myself until a couple minutes afterwards where I was gasping for air. That, compounded with the fact that I was literally being "trampled" on by hands, legs, whole bodies in the water, was almost too overwhelming. I needed to get a grip, and find it FAST.

I rolled on my back for a couple of strokes and assessed my situation. I was simply going too hard, I needed to find my stride. I slowed my stroke down to what seemed like a crawl, and started again. Soon, I found a flow and bodies seemed to have some distance between each other. I concentrated SO hard on my breathing, and tried to relax. The first yellow bouy was approaching.

I turned the corner and headed toward the next bouy, which I could barely see in the distance. Stroke, stroke, breath. Stroke, stroke, breath. Tempo. Tempo. Relax. Before I knew it, I was passing people. Women, men...I had broken into the first wave of starters, and immediately I was invigorated with a new found energy. My stride then just fell into place, and I seemed to pick up some speed.

I passed more people and then found myself at the second yellow bouy, only to turn again to head back toward the beach. I had to lift my head on occasion to sight my target and make sure I was swimming in a straight line, but for the most part I just kept plugging away. Before I knew it, I was back at the beach and running toward transition.

There weren't too many people in the transition area, which gave me encouragement. Did I really swim that fast? It was hard to tell, but I felt good.

The wet suit came off with ease, and I put my socks, shoes, helmet and glasses on. Then off on the bike I went towards the 12.5 mile course. Ironically, it was the same route I had taken yesterday when I trained with the team. The same route that I had drafted behind Elysia. The same route where I saw her fall.

I passed that spot again and wondered if she was okay. Then something in my mind brought me back to the moment, and I thought about my time. Why was my ankle feeling so "free"? I looked down, and was devistated to realize that my race chip was no longer on my ankle. I wasn't being timed! Would I get disqualified? That is the only thing that ran through my mind, and my drive became quickly deflated.

I rode about a mile in a bit of a depression, cursing to myself. But then something hit me. My stopwatch on my wrist is still going, and nothing can stop that. It is, after all, a race against myself. So I shouldn't give up. I should keep pushing, keep moving forward. With what seemed like a new breath of life, I started pumping harder. And I thought that maybe, just maybe, that race chip didn't fall off in the water, but was perhaps hiding in the wet suit. I pushed harder to get back as fast as I could so I could find the answer.

Back at the transition line, I hung my bike and took off my helmet. I dug my hand into the legs of the wet suit, and it was like I had struck gold. There, deep in the leg, was my race chip. I may not get a breakdown in time by each sport, but perhaps I could get an official time for the race!

With my chip back on, I headed out for the 5K run. I was feeling good, though a bit winded. BUT, I forgot to put on my race belt with my number on it! I had to turn around and put it on, or else I would be disqualifed. Race belt went on, and I headed out again.

Right out of the gate, I was faced with a hill that only kids would dream of sledding down. It was STEEP. I tried running up it, but soon realized that walking fast would be just as productive, so I pulled back a bit.

Once the ground leveled out, I found my pace. There were a couple other hills that took me up and down. The course was a pretty one, and though many people passed me, I was able to pass a couple people. That made me feel good, especially since the run is my downfall of the three. I thought I saw a snail pass me, but I could have been halucinating at that point...

I approached the finish line much quicker than I anticipated, and my energy grew into excitement. 500 yards. 400 yards. 300 yard, it's so close! Then, there was a guide. "Second lap to the left, finish straight ahead if you have done both laps!" WHAT? Man, I forgot about the dreaded second lap. What a tease.

So I had to do it all again. The big hill and all. But I made it back to the now cherished finish area, and really pushed myself in the end. I passed three women in the last 500 yards, and FINALLY made it to finish line. Alex and his friend were there cheering me on. What a great feeling to see a familiar face.

"And give a big hand to number 43, Andrea Duncan, with a time of one hour, thirty six minutes!" I felt like I had just won the lottery. I finished. Mission accomplished.

It turns out that even though I didn't have my race chip on the whole time, they were keeping track of me somehow, likely by sighting my number. The race results are now posted, and I didn't do bad at all.

For the swim, I came in 3rd in my age group out of 25, 7th overall for women and 58th overall. That was obviously my strength, and I'm thrilled. My time was 15:06 for the 800 meter distance.

The bike was respectable, though it surely isn't my strength. My time was 43:39 for the total distance. I placed ninth in my age group there.

My run was my weekness, going at a slow 11:30 pace (though there WERE hills). The time for that was 34:29, and I didn't break any records.

Overall, with the transition times, I completed my first race in 1:35:24. That was 8th place in my age group, 30th for women, and 154th overall. Not bad for this newbie.

The overall experience was awesome, and I'm officially hooked on the sport. In fact, I just registered for another sprint tri in a couple of weeks. Hey, what's another one, right?



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I'm almost there! Check out my progress at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/DunCAN