My first triathlon

Note: This was originally an essay I published on http://www.helium.com/ but decided to put on this blog.

It was 4:30 P.M. on Saturday June 30, 2007. As the horn signaled to start the race, I excitedly realized that I was finally becoming a triathlete! This was the moment I had been anticipating for the past 5 years! "5 years?", you wounder. "How could it possibly have taken 5 years to train for a triathlon?"

Let me back up a minute. Ever since I was 11 years old, and first heard the word "triathlon" mentioned, I have made it my vow to do one. I was completly astounded with the level of dedication and endurance these athletes posessed to become masters of three entirely different sports: swimming, bicycling, and running. Yet, I held off on the idea of actually doing a triathlon for so long becaus I thought I was too young to do one. "What 11 year old does triathlons?", I thought. Plus, I assumed that the distances were impossile. " A half-mile swim, 10-15 mile bike, AND a 5K run", I thought. "And that is the shorthest distance avalible? How will I ever do that?"

Even through all of this, I could not give up on my dream of finishing a triathlon. For the next several years, my thoughts would always drift back to doing a triathlon. I would oftentimes pick up triathlon books and magazines, reading them for hours. I would look at the pictures of smiling, exhausted athletes crossing the finish line and think to myself "that could be me." The longing never went away.

The dream finally surfaced into a reality when I was on the internet looking up bicycle races. My parents and I had just finished an amazing bicycle race. I wanted to do another bicycle race with them and was on the internet looking for others. I was on a website that had events listed for every sport. Of course, the longing came back and I had to check which triathlon events were avalible. Amidst all the notices for extremly long and intimidating (at least to me at the time) events, I found a link that provided informatiaon about a race taking place 3 weeks from the time I was looking at the computer. It was in a town only an hour away from where I live. Best of all, the race was at 4:30 in the afternoon, meaning I could sleep in! This race was a Super-Sprint triatlon.

"What is a Super-Sprint triathlon?" you may ask. A Super-Sprint triathlon is one of the shortest and least intimidating distances of triathlon availibe. It was a distance I had never heard about, up untill this point. The distance was a 300m (about 12 lengths of a pool) swim, 6 mile bike, and a 3K run (shortly under 2 miles). This, I realiized, was a perfectly feasable distance. Maybe my dream of becoming a triathlon finisher could finally become a reality!

I quickly thought of whether I would be able to cover these distances with only 3 weeks of training. I suddenly realized that it was a definate possibility. I was on a summer swim team at that point, and was swimming about an hour a day. 12 lengths of a pool was merely a warm-up to me! I have also ran a small amount in the past, and had even joined the track team 2 years ago in middle school. Running the 3K race would be doable with a few weeks of training. I could already comfortably run a mile! The biking would be relitivly easy as well. The bike ride I completed with my parents was 12 miles, double the distance of the bike leg in the Super-Sprint. 3 weeks later, I was able to comfortably run 2 miles. I was also becoming more famillar with the gears on my bike, and of course, going to swim practice. I felt very confident that I could complete the distances of the triathlon.

After 5 years of longing to do a triathlon and 3 weeks of traning and anticipation so strong I could barely sleep, I was finally ready to start my first triathlon. The first thing I remember about the triathon was that the lake was very warm. As I stood engulfed in the pleasent water waiting for the signal to start, I thought about the race ahead. The whole expierence was surreal. The dream I had fantisized about for the past 5 years was now about to come true! The horn sounded. I could not believe the race was actually happening!

I dove into the comfortable lake to begin my swim. "This is just like every day at swim practice", I kept telling myself. Eventually my body obeyed by slowing down my breathing and allowing me to become more comfortable in the water. The swim quickly ended and I ran out of the water to grab my bike and helmet. I turned my head around, and saw my parents waving at me and encouraging me. I smiled back. They also told me I was one of the first people out of the water. I could not belive my parents untill I looked behind me and saw almost everybody was still in the water. Now filled with even more energy, I hastily grabbed my helmet (carelessly putting in on backwards, alost chocking myself, and having to have a whole team of people help me turn it around) and was off to the bike course.

The bike course was astoundigly beautiful. The race took place in the Ohio country and the summer landscade and trees were the most beautiful shades of olive green. The course was also extremly hilly and on one hill I actually had to stop, get off my bike, and walk it up the trechoursly steep hill. The lead I created from the swim did not last very long. All the people I passed on the swim (and some people from the longer triathlon that started about half an hour after the Super-Sprint) blitzed passed me on their high-tech carbon fiber bikes. I plodded slowly along on my completly out of gear, too small Schwinn, and I couldn't have cared less. Towards the end of the bike ride, I was starting to get tired. I was also incredibly thirsty! As I rolled into the transition area to get my running gear, and put away my bicycle and helmet, I gulped down two full cups of water. After I guzzled the water like I was stranded in the Sahara Dessert, it was time to start the run.

The run took place in another beautiful location. It was a bike trail with several tall trees hanging above, providing shade on this hot summer day. The run went by relitivly easy and by this point, I was confident that I would finish. The only pain I felt was a slight tiredness and a heavy feeling in my legs, which came from transferring from bicycling immediatly to running. This heavy feeling even had me walking for part of the run! As the run drew to an end, I could not believe what I was about to accomplish. As I saw the finish line, I used every last reserve of strength and sprinted toward the finish line.

I saw my time on the clock. 1 hour and 12 minutes. I finished second to last; however, my final standing in the race did not matter to me. I was so thrilled that I finally became the thing I was dreaming about for so long. I finally became the smiling triathlete I saw crossing the finish lines in all those glossy triathlon magazines. I sudddenly realized I was starving!

I walked to the snack table to grab a couple Rice Krispie bars, and to my dad's truck to grab a swandwich and soda. I ate this food ravenously. After I finished my dinner, I walked from my dad's truck over to the site of the race to watch the organizers announce the results. I was shocked to found I had won a first place trophy in my age group. Even though I was the only one in my age group at the triathlon, that trophy made me feel very proud.

I was overjoyed to complete this onece-thought impossble feat and realized that not many people my age are doing triathlons. I suddenly felt very special and made a promise to myself to do more triathlons! As I rode home in the truck, I thought about where my next triathon would be. I decided to do a triathlon in the same city, a month away. This triathon would be a sprint, one of the distances that I used to belive was daunting.

Just to let you know, I finished that triatlon, and one additional triatlon before that summer ended. I am also planning to do many more triathlons this summer. I now either swim, bike, or run every day to keep in shape for my next triathlon. I have ran distances up to 8 miles, shattered personsl best times in swim meets, and also have gotten a better bike.

I plan do triathlons for the rest of my life and now relize that limits are only in the mind. This is true for triathlon as well as every other aspect of your life. Becoming a triathon finisher has made me confident in many other aspects of my life. One example is that it has made me more determined in my school work, helping me study harder and get the best grades I have ever recieved. I strongly believe that becoming a triathlete is not as hard as it sounds. Finishing a triathlon is feasable for every person that has a desire to do so and is willing to work hard.