Purl, Interrupted

yo soy triathlete (now with more photos!)

Finished! In under 2:30, which (while very slow by normal person standards, is way better than I had hoped for).

It was a very emotional experience. Pretty difficult on a lot of levels. Pretty fun, too. Very rewarding.

My bionic shoulder held up like a champ. Where I really struggled was with my breathing -- felt like I never caught my breath during the swim or bike, and then had an asthma attack at about mile 3 of the run. Pretty unusual for me (but so is biling 500 m, biking 10 miles and then running 4.1 miles, so that could have something to do with it). So it was very challenging, physically.

The thing that was most amazing to me (other than the mere fact that I did a triathlon 15 months after having my shoulder replaced) was how incredibly supportive people were. Being cheered on by other racers is a really amazing experience. People were amazingly kind, supportive and encouraging.

As an added bonus, it was a really beautiful day -- the forecast had been for mostly clouds and maybe some rain. But it was gorgeous and sunny -- one of the nicest days all year.

So ... here are a few photos in case you find the whole story a little too far fetched. :-) Not that I'd blame you.

With Jara and Jen, waiting for our numbers to be called for swimming:

With Jen, getting ready to swim:

Swimming action shot:

Swimming, when it looks like drowning:

Transitioning to the bike portion (what a beautiful day! I had planned to race in running tights and full jacket; ditched the tights and took the sleeves off my jacket):

Looking slightly absurd biking in big honkin' urban cruiser.

Running, Chugach Mountain backdrop (I think this is my favorite photo of the event).

Elated at the finish.

With Jen and Jara after the race:

brrr.

OK, when I signed up to do a late May triathlon, I was imagining a certain type of day. The triathlon in my imagination was sunny at 65 degrees. Today, however, was cold, rainy and in the high 40s/low 50s. Brrr. If this weather holds, Sunday will require significantly more attention to clothing issues (e.g. jackets, running tights, etc.) than previously anticipated.

I'm also feeling a little overwhelmed in general by the various stages of this event. The day before the race we have to drop off our bikes, plus our "transition" items -- both for "T1" (swim to bike) and T2 (bike to swim). I'm filled with what are probably pretty silly questions. Like ... what do you wear on your feet between the pool and your bike? Everyone talks about putting your shoes on at the bike. But surely you're not barefoot running through the parking lot. Right?

In other news ... did I mention that Fish & Game reported at least one "feasting bear" on the grounds of Bartlett High School last weekend. I hope they're not feasting on slow runners.....

when swimming looks like drowning

i can't believe that the GNT is a week from today. i don't feel ready at all.

i went swimming again today and am amazed that no matter how many times i go, i don't get any better. i have asthma, and so there's a lot of desperate gasping for air. i think i scare the lifeguards.

as i was getting out, a nice man at the pool asked me if i was swimming for pleasure or if i was in training. i explained that i was "in training," but only in the "trying to finish the event" sense. he was very encouraging. he also asked me which was my "best event." i told him that i think i'm equally bad at all three events. which is really true. they are all incredibly challenging, just in different ways.

but this time last year i couldn't swim or bike or run, and i couldn't walk more than 1/2 mile without the arm in a sling. so challenge is good. and i'm trying not to care if i finish last in my age group (which it seems i'm pretty certain to do, no?)

summer is finally here

what a beautiful weekend here in anchor-town. hard to believe that two weeks ago we got two feet of snow. today was windier than yesterday, but in the high fifties and sunny most of the day. and the trees are starting to bloom. beautiful. summer is definitely here!

my own private triathlon

I thought I was going to have to spend most of this weekend prepping for a big hearing on Monday. So I was pretty bummed to wake up to the nicest, sunniest day we've had all year. Until I checked my email and learned that my hearing has been rescheduled -- hooray! Which left the whole day for Big Wild Fun.

Without entirely intending to, today I did my own triathalon of sorts:
- First I took Truman to the dog park for a run. We only went a mile, because the park is nasty and muddy. But there was running.
- Then I went to the West High pool to practice not looking like I'm drowning. I need a lot more practice in that skill, incidentally.
- Then this afternoon I took the bike on its longest ride yet. I'm not exactly sure of the distance, but I think it was 7-7.5 miles. This is not far for most people, I realize, but it's far for me (see previous post re: pathological fear of biking). The shoulder is definitely a little achy, but nothing too terrible.

So there you have it. My own private triathalon.

My crazy heart rate monitor (coolest gadget ever, by the way) insists that the 3 activities combined burned 850 calories. If that doesn't say "big yummy dinner in my future", I don't know what does!

like riding a bicycle

i know it's been awhile since i checked in. training has really been up and down ... a lot of false starts and random little problems (arches, ankles, etc.) that sidetracked me for a few days here and there.

the biggest problem by far has been getting comfortable on the bike. i've never been a very strong cyclist -- always felt pretty wobbly up there. with my shoulder injury, it had been a good 5 years since i'd been on a bike at all. plus, now, the stakes are quite for me. if i fall while biking (or while doing anything else, for that matter), i am very, very likely to suffer a serious injruy to the shoulder. so that fact is never far from my mind, which makes me even more nervous.

all of which is to say that it's been much harder than i'd anticipated to get back into biking. while i've been doing a spinning class (the other kind) at my gym the last 2 months, it didn't translate at all to the not-freaking-out part of bike-riding.

but this week ... with spring finally upon us ... has been a bit of a breakthrough week for the bike. i started off the week literally just riding my bike up and down the street while terry yelled various encouraging tidbits like "don't look down!" and "remember -- motion is propelling yourself forward!" then i graduated to rides around the neighborhood and down to the Coastal Trail.

i'm still not super comfortable on the bike, but it's improved A LOT in the last week.