Lisa's Triathlon!

The big day finally arrives! Lisa's first triathlon. I was very proud of her; not only for completing he race, but for all the hard work involved in training. And, although she likely feels that she did not train enough, I remember all the 4am mornings she went to swim a mile in the gym pool, followed by a one-hour cycling class, and then sometimes a run. See my previous post on triathlon training to get the details of the race basics, if you want a refresher. In short, it's a 1/4-mile swim race, 14-mile bike race, and a 3.1-mile run to the finish line.

"Patti made this sign for me. I want to say thanks Patti, and also thanks to everyone else for your support and encouragement! A special thanks and kiss to my coach Jeff! I could not have done it without you!" - Mellissa

Race morning is NO fun. We had to get up at 4:45am (ugh) to get to the race to set up the transitions (more on that later) and get "body marked." That's where they draw your race # on your arm with a permanant marker. (You want to keep this on as long as possible after the race, especially if your're going to the gym.)



I was up until 12:30am the night before in a poker game, so I wasn't feeling too good at 5am. And I wasn't happy at having my picture taken before brushing my teeth.

It's still early-morning and dark when we drag her bike to the transition zone. This is where she will go after the swim to change for the bike race. All towels, water, gloves, helmet, banana, and T-shirts are kept in your little transition area so you can change for the next event. No flash here and blurry, but Lisa is ready!

With nearly 300 triathletes entered, swim starts are staggered. Every 10 seconds, another swimmer is given the GO! signal. I love this shot of Lisa intensely waiting for the signal. In years past, (OK, many years past), I've been in this spot myself a few times: excited, worried, tense, cold, and with a funny feeling of privilege, since so few people can complete these types of races. Regardless of the distance, all triathlons are tough.

And GO! Eight laps in this olympic-sized pool, "serpentine style" a snake pattern, so everyone can wind around until the end and then climb out.

About halfway through, Lisa stops to catch her breath....

Now, we spectators, coaches, and photographers have a difficult job too. We sit in the stands cheering on our favorite swimmer and shiver in the cold. Some of us get to have a bagel while cheering on Mom. Hey kid, how about sharing? No? Hey look! A pony!

Back to the race.....After the swim, you get out of the water grateful that you did not drown, and haul ass for 100 yards to the transition area for your bike. Lisa is smiling as usual and glad to be out of the water.

Head for your bike and dry off. Grab your helmet, gloves, and shirt. Take a bite of a PowerBar and take off for the 14 mile ride. This takes about an hour going as fast as you can. After 10 minutes, you feel like you'd rather be heading to Starbucks for a double latte and the newspaper.

Now, we spectators really have nothing to do for a good hour. I couldn't rip off that kid's bagel without the Dad catching me, so I head home to get a forgotten spare camera battery. I barely make it back in time to catch Lisa coming in from the bike race. (How can she be so happy when I want a bagel?)

OK, the bike-to run transition is a favorite: You're 2/3rds done, you didn't drown, get kicked by the lead swimmer, or crash into a car. You didn't fall off your bike or throw up from the stress, and now all you have to do is hang on for a 3.1 mile run. At an 8 minute-per-mile pace, you'll be done in, uh....let's see...3.1 times 8, ..uh... well it's a pretty hard run, let me tell you! (I can't be ciphering when I'm coaching.)

Here's a 4-part collage of Lisa coming in from the bike, tossing her helmet, grabbing some water and heading out for the final leg of the race.

OK, back to the important part of all this: the spectators. We had it tough, hanging out, bored, waiting, coloring...

...which is the perfect time to sneak into the transition area and steal stuff like smelly towels, other people's water bottles, and sweat bands.



Just as I was explaining to Security why I was looking for jewelery in the gymbags, I see Lisa coming up the fnal hill....

Lisa runs onto the track and through the finish line. Because of the staggered start, she began the race 42 minutes late, giving her a finish time of about two hours. We were jolted when we heard that she missed taking 3rd place for her age group by less than 5 minutes! So, coming in 4th for her first Tri ain't too shabby.

What motivates today's triathlete? Fame? The experience? The training? Free cookies?

All done. Whew! Time to grab some water, your race t-shirt, and all the bananas you can. Try not to look how you feel. Give a big smile for the camera and kiss your coach. Head out for Henry's House of Bagels, (buy 12 get one free.)