4:55 a.m. No one will care if I steal one piece of oat bread. Should I eat anything else? No, Ironman Archer and wife advised me not to do anything out of the ordinary, which really means no breakfast at all.
5:05 a.m. "Morning David (a.k.a. "coach"/chauffeur/camera man/hero) Thanks again for getting up incredibly early to drive me out to Montauk", while Krissy and Ana (my best friends) sleep in.
5:58 a.m. Where do we go? Should we drop off the bike or the run stuff first. The directions aren't the best. I have no idea what I'm doing. "Oh ok just in here. This must be the second transition point from bike to run. Let me get my run gear stuff ready." Wait, I don't really have any run gear. I'll put the Texas A&M rally towel in my spot to make me smile, cause I think I'll be dying at this point in the race.
6:18 a.m. This is such a long walk. I feel bad for making David come all the way out here. Its such an early morning, but the sunrise is beautiful. So glad to have someone here with me. I have no idea how I'm going to feel during this race. I know I'll get thru it, I just hope I've got some dignity doing it!
6:30 a.m. Ok, so I'll set up my bike like they did. Just hang it? Like that? Huh, cool. Lay out the towel, my shirt, my shoes, socks, helmet, snack, water bottle. Got it. They just announced its 6:30! Ah! I should get to the beach, right? I love that David is here. He is a very calming presence that quietly supports me. This line for this disgusting clogged bathroom is full of 'chatty kathys'. All these women who know each other and are relaxed. I'm dying to talk to someone who is about to race. I really wish I had someone racing with me. I'm surprisingly chipper. Wonder what my heart rate is at right now. Where is David? Ah yes, he's right there. Patiently waiting. A blessing, that one.
6:40 a.m. David just gave me a pep talk. He he! Glad I could laugh before the start. Hope the girls are here when I get back to the shore. I can't believe I'm walking down the beach to swim all this way back! Whoa, look at how huge that dog's head is! Ok, so I'm more than half way finished when I see the camper on the beach with the dog with the giant head. What is that? A St. Bernard? This is kinda far down here. Hmmm, what should I do? Some people are in the water, I should probably at least feel it. AHH!! So cold!!! Ok, now I definitely have to get all the way in, so the start isn't a shock. I'll just sit in the water until everyone else gets out too. Lots of wetsuits out here. Still don't think I need one. I'm not that hard core.
6:55 a.m. Ok, so we just had to get out. Wonder what a 'water start' means. I need to connect with someone here. Must reach out. Oh, he just said it was his first tri. "Its your first one? Mine too. I'm a little nervous. Hi, TJ, I'm Erin. Pat, nice to meet you too." Ok, two names. That kinda grounded me. Oh geez, the Elite group is swimming out. That's what a water start means. Ok, so no bounding into the water. There they go. Oh my goodness, we can get in the water now. Ok, well its about to begin. I wonder how long this will take me. 'Just swim my race. Don't get overexcited and tire myself out. Slow and steady. Just finish.' Oh! He's counting down from 10. Where is the American flag for the turn to shore? I see it... barely.
The race begins for #69 from Texas. I didn't want to discriminate so I incorporated all strokes into my half mile swim: free style, breast stroke, back stroke, doggy paddle, side stroke (strongest one actually). Under the keen eye of the local lifeguards and staff I managed to struggle my way through the murky salt water. Forgot it was going to be salt water until I got a mouth full! BLAH!! Before leaving NYC, I read up on Montauk a bit and discovered the character of the captain in JAWS was based on a shark hunter from Montauk. Great shark hunting off these beaches. Excellent! This helps to fuel my paranoia about losing a limb or a good chunk of myself in the ocean to an unseen creature and here I am voluntarily splashing around, which you're not supposed to do when there are sharks, right? Its like subconsciously I want to give a little nibble. I press on, and focus my attention on the swimmer with the blue wetsuit. Her form is solid and yet I'm keeping pace with her. Ok, stay with blue back. Keep up with her. That is the goal. Eventually overtake her, cause lets face it, you're always saving a little for the end. And a couple buoys before the turn to shore, I passed her! Thats right! I am Ariel! The sea is my home! Can't wait to leave it!
Ok, gotta swim all the way in just to save face. Ah! LAND! Ugh... sand! Not so easy to run in. Ok, lets jog up to the bike. Yeah right. Not happening. Ok, wipe the feet as best we can. Geared up, got the helmet, snack, chug some agua, shirt... ready. My camera man tried to grab a pic of me before I peddled away. Wonder if he got it. Wonder how long it takes to bike 14 miles. I don't even have a ballpark of an idea. Ah well! Apparently, you just keep moving your legs the whole stinkin' time! I was hoping for a little rest on the bike, but somehow failed to ever stop moving my legs for this "rest". I did love the bike part though. If I tried to capture all the things I thought about on that ride, this would go on forever. Its incredible where the mind goes when the body is active. Just an idea, I rehearsed my Shakespeare monologue in several accents, took note of some properties for sale, waved at the locals on their lawns, high-fived a couple cops, chatted with a few fellow racers, ate half a fruit bar then decided I didn't really even want it, took note of the ages of all the folks passing me (they wrote our age on our lower leg). Everyone seemed so intense during the race. Granted some were Olympians but was anyone else doing this for fun? I wonder if I'd trained more I might have been more intense... nah, its not my personality! Its all about F-U-N!
The last 15 min of the bike included a gigantic hill! Luckily there was a dude at the top cheering us on. Definitely gave him a big ole high five! Then it was transition #2. Found my spot, hung the bike, left the helmet and started jogging out to the course. Now I see the girls! Ana and Krissy cheering on #69 as she loosely jogs down the hill and on for the 3 mile run. Once I'm out of their sight and any other spectator, it becomes me and my head again. Maybe the longest mile of my whole life! My legs weighed 100 lbs each at that point. Race tip: stand up on the bike for the last little bit to get your legs moving more like a run. The transition will be easier Definitely the hardest part of the race. My body would not move faster. My lungs were doing their job very efficiently, but my poor legs were ready to be done. Just keep running, just keep running. I took four 10 second walk breaks. I was told I have a nice smile- still enjoying this.
Ok, second to last water stop, no more walking. Finish the race with style. Pose for the camera. Round the corner to the bottom of the hill. I see the lighthouse. I see the finish. Hey, this is almost the exact same incline and length as the street I grew up on back home in Texas. Perfect. I know how to push thru this! All the way up. Use the crowd. Oh, I hear the girls. Almost there! Did they just say 'representing Astoria'? How lame! I should have put Texas on my registration. That would have sounded much cooler running through the finish! Wow! I made it!
*for more photos, check the facebook page!Out of 700 registered racers, I placed 406th overall, 120th among women, and 12th in my division (women under 34 yrs) with a time of 1 hour, 49 minutes, 35 seconds...
thank you very much!
1 comment:
By the time you got to the Finish I was exhausted!!
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