I’ve waited a couple of weeks to update because I wanted to get some perspective after competing in the 2012 Sherman Lake YMCA aka “The Shermanator”.
So as Jerry Lewis might say before updating the board with the total number of dollars pledged at his MDA Telethon….. “TIMPANY!”
I finished.
At this point, you might be wondering…huh? You swam 500 Meters, biked 10 miles, and ran a 5K and all you can say is “I finished”???
Yep.
Kinda makes for a boring blog, so I will elaborate. I had been on vacation the week before the race. We rent a cottage every year on Lake Michigan and spend a week in the sun, water, exploring the wonders of the lake front etc… It’s very nice.
Throughout the week, I knew I had the race coming and was very excited…okay…for those of you who know me….anxious… about it. Kimm and I had taken the boys for a bike tour, we had been very active, I even tore off a 10 mile bike ride on my own.
I came home from the lake a day early. Kimm had offered to come home with the boys a day early so she could come but I insisted they stay and enjoy their last day at the cottage. I unpacked and headed out to Sherman Lake as I volunteered to help set up the transition area. It was a lot of work, but it allowed me to acclimate myself with where I wanted to be in the area as well as how I would need to navigate through once the race started.
I had gotten a call from Tim Ferris. Tim and his wife Connie have become some of our dearest friends since we moved to the Kalamazoo area. He was wishing me good luck for the race. “What time do you have to be there?” he asked. I told him I was leaving the house at 5:15 as packet pick up started at 5:45 and I wanted to be early to get a good sport in the transition area. I also said he was welcomed to join me. There was a pause “5:15…well good luck with that!”.
I spent the evening packing and re-packing. Anxiously, I thought and re-thought each move I would have to make. The phone range. It was Tim calling back.
“If I’m not there when you leave…just go ahead.”
My alarm went off right at 4:15. I wanted PLENTY of time to re-think through everything and have my body wake up. I ate a banana, had a granola bar, and drank some water.
At 5:05, I realized there was a car out front. It was Tim.
I gotta tell you having him there was a blessing because he proceeded to tell me a story that had me laughing the entire way out there. I was the second person through registration and the second one setting up in the transition area.
Tim was gracious in finding a good spot to view the spectacle from. I would bounce back and forth chatting with the other triathletes and popping back out to make sure Tim was having fun. All was good.
The park filled up, the National Anthem was sung and before I knew it, I was getting in the water to begin my first tri. I hung back in the crowd avoiding the chaos of the start. After the first 100 yards, I realized I needed to place myself further up. I was stuck behind guys that had shot out and were now floating, doing elementary back stroke, or simply treading water. I had to navigate around this like they were pylons at drivers training. After I got clear of them, I was able to get a nice comfortable stroke going as was at the bouy to turn and come back at. I found myself zig-zagging a bit but got settled and the final 100 meters flew by. I was hoping to break 15 minutes and had finished in under 13.
Usually when transitioning from swim to bike, I have plenty of time. In this race, I needed to run through sand, around the entire transition area on matts, enter the back of the transition area and get ready to go. I guess I pushed harder than I should. I realized I was pretty winded. I had a water bottle set to rinse my feet with and my socks and shoes all laid out. I still took twice as long in the transition area as most.
Once on the bike I felt pretty good. There is an incline to climb getting out of the lake area and rolling hills the rest of the way. The first few sets of hills were fine. I was able to push down hill and build momentum for the uphill portions. The course was an out and back, with two 90 degree turns that had a big hill in the middle. One would think that out and back means that it evens out…that every hill you go up, you also get to go down. The problem was the hill between the two large turns made you slow down and you lose all momentum. From mile 2 on, my “push hard downhill/pop back uphill” plan would not work. I had to grunt it out. What I had hoped would take 40 minutes ended up taking close to 48. On top of that, I had to use a lot more energy than I expected.
Back in transition, I parked my bike, swigged some Gatorade, popped an energy blob of some sort into my mouth and headed off for my run. Again, the transition area by the lake is in a “bowl” that the run course had to exit. I initially walked to get my legs back under me and because I was pretty darned tired. I got to running a bit but once on the flats, the shade was gone and the temperatures got high. I knew I was going to have to alternate walking and running, but quickly realized it would be more than I had planned.
As an aside, I must say that when competing in an event like this, the people you meet are amongst the coolest in the world. People were cheering each other on, providing words of encouragement. Letting you know there’s yet another hill around the next corner....(Thanks!)
I make it through the flat open areas and get back to where I am running in the shade and back down into the bowl towards the finish line. With about a half mile to go, I run into Paul Emenheiser, one of the leaders of the trizelle program I participated in. He “runs me in”. This means he runs with me, providing me words of encouragement, how much further to go, and reminding me of what I am about to accomplish. With about 50 yards to go he drops off. I wish he’d stay with me as his presence was comforting but I realize he wants me to do this on my own. We all get to finish on our own.
I lengthen my stride and cross the line trying to look as fresh as a daisy but fooling no one. People are cheering and I see Tim trying to get a picture. I am pretty certain it will not turn out.
After I cool down, I trade stories of the race with Tim and other folks milling around. I met many people who were awe inspiring. One woman had just turned 50 and was doing the race, her first, for her husband who is serving in Afghanastan. There were people of all shapes and sizes. One guy had a flat tire and ran his bike the last mile in...before starting the normal run! My guess is that a few may have even been inspired to see this big old bear of a man finishing a tri.
I finished. I aimed to be in between 1:30 and 1:45. It took me 1:49:41. Almost 5 minutes longer than I hoped. As my brother once told me “I don’t want to do something that feels GOOD for that amount of time!
On one hand, I accomplished a major goal of finishing a tri. I met a lot of amazing people. I got to spend time working out with my wife and kids and living a healthy lifestyle. I realized that I am blessed with many friends who have and continue to support me. I did something I honestly thought I couldn’t do.
On the other hand…I wanted to do better and have to deal with the fact I’m still a tortoise.
At least I have a goal time to beat next year.
Oh yeah… my next race is September 1st in Niles. A new mountain to climb.....
