Sunday is my first solo triathlon. Way back in November, I saw a Facebook post for the annual Esprit de She Duathlon in Lakeville. I had contemplating doing this race last year but for some reason I changed my mind. This year, they are having their inaugural triathlon…and the swim was short and in a pool. I thought perfect! This is my race. So without hesitation I signed up.
I have to confess I feel somewhat like a failure. Yes, I have RAN 70 races in 2.46 years. And yes I’m that much of an analytics geek that I have it calculated out to the hundredth. I ran 2 half marathons in a span of 2 months. I am proud of these accomplishments…VERY PROUD. But running wasn’t my goal when I started. I started this training journey back in September 2013 with the intention of doing triathlons. I got a sweet bike for the first relay triathlon and I went riding. I always loved ridingbikes. I started lap swimming on a consistent basis too. I always loved swimming. But I always hated running. I want to love it and be cool like all those Williams family runners. But I really don’t love it. That is why I find it crazy that after almost 2.5 years of training, I have not done a solo triathlon. I have, however, averaged a running race every 13 days (see numbers geek). I have been focusing on the one sport out of the three that I like the least. I am mental!
There are some reasons why the long delay before my first solo triathlon. They are silly, I know this:
One - Fat people don’t do triathlons. I’m accepting the fact that I will biggest (whale) in a swim suit waiting to jump in the pool for the swim on Sunday.
Two - I’m afraid of hills. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to bike up a hill and will have to do the walk of shame. If a skinny person does the walk of shame, nobody would bat an eye. If a fat girl, like me, does the walk of shame it is, “Oh look at her, she is so fat she can’t even bike.” I know I’m irrational and I need to get off of my anti-hill attitude, especially since I love going downhill! Weeee!
Three – My fear that my bike is trying to kill me. When I upgraded from my first sweet bike to my second sweeter bike, I also transition to clipless pedals (the name makes no sense since you actually are clipped in but whatever). I still am trying to get over my fears. I avoid routes that involve a lot of stoplights and stop signs that would require me to clip out of my bike. I know that everybody falls over when they start out with clipless pedals, it is like a baby learning to walk, you will fall. Thankfully my falls have been on grass and not in front of a lot of people (just kids at the playground). Even though I haven’t had a disaster at a stop light, I fear that someday it will happen and I’ll be hit by a car. I’m getting better at this one.
Funny story…So about a week ago I got an email from this race that said due to the heavy rains, the outdoor pool will not be ready for Sunday. As a result the swim has been shortened and moved inside. OUTDOOR POOL? When I signed up for this there was no mention of an outdoor pool. This is Minnesota, to my knowledge there are no outdoor lap pools (I guess I’m wrong). I just assumed it was inside. Thankfully, now it will be inside. Can you imagine my surprise on race morning if I was outside in 50 degrees? Yikes! Thank you Mother Nature!
So on Sunday, I’ll be jumping in a pool for a shortened 125 meter swim, a 14 mile HILLY bike ride and 2 mile run. To me Sunday isn’t a race, it is a huge workout that I pray to complete without heart attack, walks of shame, major embarrassment or split pants, and hopefully, in under two hours.
I am so excited.
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