Try to TRI

One hour. 60 Minutes. 3600 Seconds. That's all it was. One hour. 60 Minutes. 3600 Seconds. I told myself.

I was ignorant, there I said it. I didn't know that Triathlons were a sport. Sure, I assumed Triathletes were athletes, since well you know, Tri-athletes. I thought Triathlons were Ironman Races and that was that. 

The gym was hosting a 60-minute Indoor Tri. It was a 10 minute swim followed by a 10 minute transition. Then there was a 30 minute bike ride followed by a 5 minute transition. Ending was a 20 minute run. 60 Minutes. Well that's a nice thought, but why. Seriously, why? 

Because. It was as simple as that. Because. And not just because it was happening. Because I could.

Will was supportive that I could do it, his work schedule was conflicting with the event, so if I signed up to do it; I was on my own. Kristine all but threatened me that I could do it. I could do it. I could. I did.

Not that anything ACTUALLY stood in my way, but let's be honest, a few things were needed to do an Indoor Tri, and the obvious of swim attire and swim goggles: Well I lacked those. Nothing like a week prior to the event buying a suit and not trying it on and picking goggles based solely on the color of their elastic band. Hey, I said I could do it, not that I knew how to do it. 

I was fortunate enough to get in the first wave of the Indoor Tri on January 4, 2015. 8am start time. 730am call time. I was nervously sitting in the parking lot at 715am. I had my suit on under a fleece and my workout pants. I put my hair in double french braids into a bun so there would be no chance of my hair falling out at any point and time. I brought extra of everything in case I lost anything, yes I had two pair of shoes with me. 

I stepped inside and went to check in. The event staff checking participants in said I didn't look happy. I just said "Uh, early." Wait, what? What was I saying, I'm a morning person, it wasn't early. I should have said "Nervous". You know why? If I had said I was nervous, it would have been the truth. And because I know they would have told me I'd do just fine. That's how people are, they boost you up when you're down. Strangers cheer you on. If you try, that's all they can ask of you.

The locker room was slightly buzzing with participants. It was apparent this was not their first rodeo so to speak, or triathlon if we're being real. It's ok. I could do it. I set my items out so I could really see them and I thought "This is happening, holy crap and a swim cap! This is happening!" 

I headed 'on deck' and got my lane assignment. Lane 1. There were two people in each lane. The 10 minute swim began. I knew the swim would be my weakest part. I took swim lessons as a kid, but really only ever learned the basics, and I didn't exactly keep up on them. I could keep myself from drowning, and that's the most important thing. The point of the entire Indoor Triathlon was distance. Before the swim started, we were told if you get tired, paddle, walk, just don't stop. I may have walked half of my 10 minutes. I had a system. I'd push off the wall and get as far as I could swimming and then I'd walk the rest. And repeat. The best part? The cheering. There were family, friends, and staff all cheering, yelling our names. It was real. In 10 minutes I did 11 laps. 275 meters. Or .178 miles. 

I knew I'd redeem some points on the bike ride. Unlike spin class, the biking position was set up at a comfortable resistance and the seated or standing stance of your choice. I peddled 8.7 miles through in 30 minutes and was pretty proud of myself. And still, the best part? The cheering. The encouragement. We were in a studio cycling, and there was a cheering squad of people.

My running had been gradually improving, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling 'it' before the run started. I had kicked my way through the pool, as well as walked in the water. I had peddled in the studio. And in the allotted 20 minutes I got in 1.88 miles. I started at what was my then average pace, 6.0 mph, and I think that was my downfall. I started to get tired and felt myself slowing, so I slowed my pace down, then increased back. I don't regret that decision, that's what I had to do to get through and that's also a downfall of being on a treadmill; you see things like speed and time. And like with both the swim and ride prior, we were cheered on by staff and encourage to speed up for the last minute of the run.

After Wave One was finished there was high-fiving all around. Congratulatory discussions of excitement. We took a group photo and I felt a wave of emotion. I choked back tears as I said goodbye to everyone. It's not like I wasn't going to see them again; I would. We had experienced that together. For me, it really was completely unthinkable. I was full of excitement and wanted to tell everyone.

For someone who four and a half months prior was winded after a one minute run on a treadmill, I had completed a 60-minute indoor triathlon. For me, it was about finishing, but not finishing in last place helped. I only racked up 68 points, which considering the first place woman had 188 points, I was only 120 points from first place. I am not at all embarrassed that out of all participants I did in fact complete the least amount of laps swimming. What did I get from that? Encouraged to become better at swimming. I was above the middle pack for biking, and I was proud of my 8.7 miles. As for my run, I was just below the middle of the pack. I started out only wanting to finish, and I finished better than I anticipated.

As I was leaving the event staff who checked me in saw me and said I still looked unhappy. I stopped, I smiled, and said "Well now I'm just tired." They both said "Congratulations, you deserve to be tired, you're a triathlete now." And so I was. And so I was.