I Came, I Tri-ed, I loved it

I’ve said for several months now that I wanted to start doing triathlons, given my swimming background and the fact that I’ve become a runner along the way as well. The one thing stopping me was the biking- it’s not that I’m afraid of it or haven’t gone to my fair share of cycling classes. It’s that I don’t have a bike and wasn’t really willing to shell out the benjamins for something if I didn’t know I’d get good use out of it. For that reason, my tri aspirations were dormant for quite some time. This was about to change, though! Booz Allen, the consulting firm I worked for was sponsoring teams to do the Make a Wish Triathlon in Bethany Beach, DE. A friend who I had met at the Corporate Athletic Association on the Booz team asked if I was interested in the swimming part since someone else we knew was doing the bike and run.

“Why not give it a tri?”

I thought to myself. The swim was 1.5 K, or .93 mile. This didn’t seem too bad so I committed and wrote in my handy dandy planner. We figured out the logistics, carpooled to DE, picked up our race packets, and grabbed some grub with the rest of the Boozers (aka Booz Allen colleagues, not alcoholics), at a local BBQ joint. I’d say there were about twenty of us, some completing the whole triathlon but most doing the relay. It was fun to meet others interested in the different sports, chow down on brisket and corn bread, and of course get some advice and situational awareness about the race. After that, four of us headed to a bonfire on the beach which was a lot of fun. There were these high school kids playing some type of crazy drums and we chatted about planning for the next day. Because I generally have the gift of being able to sleep anywhere when I’m tired enough, I got some good sleep and was ready to go in the morning. I chugged some Gatorade and put my swimsuit on. I think Andre and Rob were less than excited when I knocked on their door at 6 AM with a loud and obnoxious

Good morning team!! Who’s ready for the race?!?!?!

We drove to the race site, took a Booz Allen picture and headed to the transition area to set up.  Since each team has one chip I’d be giving my time chip to Rob after the swim for him to wear during the bike and run.  It was pretty chilly outside so Amy (another swimmer) and I stayed in our sweats as long as possible before walking the mile on the beach to wear the swim would start.  We had some time, because relays were the last wave.  On our way down I saw the largest jelly fish I’d ever seen in my life and a 12-year old kid who will probably win a Nobel prize for science explaining to a group of onlookers that jelly fish have 98% carbon dioxide in their muscles.  Who knew? At least I’ll be prepared, should this question come up on Jeopardy! After taking a moment to look at the large fish we queued in our section of black caps and waited for our wave.  I was trying to keep warm, which probably wasn’t as hard for the 95% of people who had wetsuits on! I don’t own a wetsuit and I don’t really plan to.  While this may sound strange coming from someone who’s always cold, I find them quite claustrophobic and believe that whatever time they save in the ocean for buoyancy would be lost during the 5 minutes it would take me to get out of one.  So instead of wearing a wetsuit I was rocking a blue camouflage one piece.  Once our gun went off we ran into the water, battled the waves, then took a left.  The course was a rectangle and the hardest part was getting to that left turn at the buoy.  During the swim we were to stay to the right of the buoys.  Being used to lane lanes and clear water for all my years of competitive swimming, it was definitely different to not have the structure of lane lines and not be able to see.  The water was murky, and people could run into you at any moment.  At first I wasn’t really having that much fun because it was strange to get used to, but after a few minutes and once I turned and got into a routine of breathing forward instead of to the side every 6 strokes or so I actually was loving it.  I got excited when I would pass someone and felt a rush when someone tried to pass me, eagerly trying to hold them off.  When I saw I had caught up to some people in the wave before me, I got even more excited.  I definitely swallowed some salt water and had a couple of people run into me but nothing major.  The best part was after the turn at the buoy to come back to the shore.  Because of the current, it was really like I was swimming and body surfing at the same time.  After getting back to the shore it was time to run back onto the beach, onto the mat and to the transition area so Rob could get on his bike.  While the swim itself had been just fine temperature wise the standing around after was pretty chilly.  Since we knew we couldn’t really cheer on the bike course, Amy and I took full advantage of the Sea Colony facilities, first relaxing in the hot tub and then showering the salt water and sand out.  After that, we headed back to the race area and saw the runners coming in.  We got to cheer for the Booz runners and I was screaming loud for my teammate, Rob, when he crossed the finish line.  Our team name was “We’ll Give Anything a Tri” (can you tell I really like this pun?) and I’m glad we did, because it was a great time. 

Following the race there was a picnic, sponsored by the BBQ place from the night before, that was amazing.  Even though I had only swam a mile I was pretty hungry and how can you ever get enough BBQ? They even had beer!  At this point it had warmed up and a group of us sat around talking and hanging out for a while which made for a good time.  They presented the awards for the top finishers in each age category and gender and also announced the top 10 fundraisers for the event.  The Make A Wish Foundation is a great organization, and it was awesome to see them raise some serious money for their mission.  I love how races (running, triathlon, biking, etc) are often times combined with charities, because what better combination than staying healthy, having fun, and giving back?  Overall I had an awesome time and can’t wait for my next triathlon experience! While I do still need to buy a bike and am doing some research on that, my next tri will be in a relay again, this time in the Beach to Battleship Ironman in Wilmington, NC.  The ante will go up quite a bit though, as the swim is 2.4 miles instead of a little under a mile. I’ll also likely be doing the running part with my teammate Jon since it’s 2 weeks before the 50-miler we’re signed up for and a marathon will make for a good training run before JFK.  So for all of you out there who are thinking about a triathlon and may or many not be prepared for all three events, I say go for it!  You can sign up for a sprint one, participate in a relay, or volunteer at one to get an idea of what it’s like.  You’ll be glad you did.  After all, you never know until you tri!