When old is new again
When enough time passes, something old can be new and exciting all over again.
An old favorite dress you just found tucked way, way back in your closet.
A $20 bill in your pocket.
Seinfeld, Season 1.
Sex.
My new old thing this past weekend? Triathlon.
After 6 tri-dormant years when I switched to an obsession with trail running, outrigger paddling, and Crossfit, I gathered up my wetsuit, an aged stick of Body Glide, all the swim/bike/run gear I had and headed to Napa for the weekend with my new crew, Viva Pink.
This was a priority race for my new tri team - one of a handful we were asked to come out and support in full force. I hedged my bets thinking there'd still be skiing in April (right?!) but as that dream slipped away, I begrudgingly jumped on the bandwagon and signed up to do the Olympic distance - a distance (.9 mile swim, 24 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) I hadn't done in 6 years and one I'd never raced much. I was always inclined towards longer distances - they played well to my strengths - slow and steady, repeat to finish. Olympic and sprint distances, being shorter, encouraged speed and all-out efforts. But I was in no shape to go longer and so Olympic was the best option.
Race day came and there were 10 or so of us spread out across the transition area, unpacking our gear, lubing up with Body Glide and sunscreen, gabbing and taking pictures. It was cold with early morning fog and as I stared at Lake Berryessa I started to grow anxious. I hadn't been in a pool more then 2-3 times this year and I hadn't been in a mass swim start in forever. The gun, the bodies leaping into the water, all the arms and legs kicking and pulling to get ahead. I had to separate myself from the team as they got ready and try to be chill. I just stared at the lake, willing myself to visualize something positive. I was anxious for the swim start and anxious about the water temperature.
So the swim was pretty much amazing. I was working harder than I ever have in a swim, but I drafted like a pro (or what I think a pro drafts like), stayed pretty calm and didn't waste time - I wanted to swim the most direct line and hang on until the finish. This became my M.O. the rest of the day. While I had the muscular development from paddling, I didn't have a base built to swim for long with power and endurance and though I had perhaps the most amazingly killer swim of my tri-career, I was gasping for air at the finish exiting the water with 2 of my Viva Pink teammates right behind me. Viva la Pink!
It was soooo great to get out of the water and onto the bike. That's another beauty of triathlon - just when you've nearly exhausted one specific muscle group you move to a new muscle group. The course was fantastic - big rollers (or smallish hills), good for bursts of power and aero-tucks on the descents. I passed a lot of people and wondered if I was pushing it too hard - would I have anything for the run? But I was too engaged to care - I was peddling with conviction and determination and to get ahead of the guy in front of me, and to see how long I could hang on. There was barely time to shove a Gu down my throat let alone some water. This was my brilliant race strategy. Go hard as hell as long as I could.
And of course, as the last miles came into focus I was done with biking - done. I had next-to-nothing left to give but I was still passing people up until the last turn into transition and right behind me was our Viva Pink leader, Ivy. Seeing her, seeing my friend Jessica just heading out to run, seeing another VP'er cheering from the sidelines was energizing and kept me smiling and light on my feet for the first 1/2 mile. Then it was me against the miles. The road was hilly, sun-exposed, endless. I ran in little steps trying to be lively getting up the hills, but had no other gear to give on the descents. I got passed by what seemed like dozens. I have no idea. Girls, boys, old, young - pass, pass, pass. And I was running the whole time - I mean, I never stopped. I was irritated - where were these people on the bike course? But such is triathlon - being faster in one thing never means you'll be faster on the day. And who was I to complain anyway - like I'd been putting in quality runs let alone quality bike-to-run workouts? Pffft. I was right where I deserved to be.
I saw my friend Tina at the turnaround and knowing she's a super strong runner it was my new goal just to stay ahead of her. Megan had already passed me in the onslaught of passers but I was less than 3 miles to go and though my pace never increased, I had a new found reason to persevere. That and trying to stay not too far off from Megan's pace. Such are the games you play with yourself in a race. Whatever gets you from Point A to Point C. A dangling carrot, pride, delirium, the thought of stopping at the finish, a beer - you do what works for you.
I ran with all I had to give - which isn't much - but was actually great all things considered. In longer distances it was a given there'd be walking time - not so with just 6.2 miles to gut out. And so I came through the chute to see my teammates who'd already finished with the rest of them not too far behind me. I was wiped out and had to sit down for a few minutes but soon enough was back on my feet high-fiving and taking pics and saying "I wish we could do this every weekend!"
This is a video from the weekend - the day we spent volunteering, pre race and post race. We fun, what can I say?
An old favorite dress you just found tucked way, way back in your closet.
A $20 bill in your pocket.
Seinfeld, Season 1.
My new old thing this past weekend? Triathlon.
After 6 tri-dormant years when I switched to an obsession with trail running, outrigger paddling, and Crossfit, I gathered up my wetsuit, an aged stick of Body Glide, all the swim/bike/run gear I had and headed to Napa for the weekend with my new crew, Viva Pink.
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| Viva Pink warm-up gear |
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| Viva Pink race gear |
Of course, there is always a little anxiety before a triathlon. There's a lot of lead up to doing a race - getting there, registering, packing the night before, pre-race eating, unpacking at transition, bathroom timing, waiting in a cluster of bodies whose cumulative energy is like a row of thoroughbreds in the gates seconds before the start of a race. Tense, alert and ready to jump at the gun.
So as my wave was called to the start - all women - I hung back a bit, a few feet away from my teammates but in my own space. I was trying to be calm. And as the countdown began "3,2,1, Go!" Jessica, who'd come over to wish me luck, said wait a second. And in that second or two, as people around scrambled to claim their positions in the water, a small space opened up in front of us and I was able to go in relatively unencumbered. Of course, there were still bodies to contend with - diagonal swimmers, slower swimmers, eventually the male swimmers that started before us. But with that momentary pause at the start - and the near-perfect water temp - I left behind all the pre-race jitters. And that's both the curse and the beauty of the start - all the anxiety leading up to it is left behind a second after it begins. You can only do what your body and gear will allow you to do after that.
So the swim was pretty much amazing. I was working harder than I ever have in a swim, but I drafted like a pro (or what I think a pro drafts like), stayed pretty calm and didn't waste time - I wanted to swim the most direct line and hang on until the finish. This became my M.O. the rest of the day. While I had the muscular development from paddling, I didn't have a base built to swim for long with power and endurance and though I had perhaps the most amazingly killer swim of my tri-career, I was gasping for air at the finish exiting the water with 2 of my Viva Pink teammates right behind me. Viva la Pink!
It was soooo great to get out of the water and onto the bike. That's another beauty of triathlon - just when you've nearly exhausted one specific muscle group you move to a new muscle group. The course was fantastic - big rollers (or smallish hills), good for bursts of power and aero-tucks on the descents. I passed a lot of people and wondered if I was pushing it too hard - would I have anything for the run? But I was too engaged to care - I was peddling with conviction and determination and to get ahead of the guy in front of me, and to see how long I could hang on. There was barely time to shove a Gu down my throat let alone some water. This was my brilliant race strategy. Go hard as hell as long as I could.
And of course, as the last miles came into focus I was done with biking - done. I had next-to-nothing left to give but I was still passing people up until the last turn into transition and right behind me was our Viva Pink leader, Ivy. Seeing her, seeing my friend Jessica just heading out to run, seeing another VP'er cheering from the sidelines was energizing and kept me smiling and light on my feet for the first 1/2 mile. Then it was me against the miles. The road was hilly, sun-exposed, endless. I ran in little steps trying to be lively getting up the hills, but had no other gear to give on the descents. I got passed by what seemed like dozens. I have no idea. Girls, boys, old, young - pass, pass, pass. And I was running the whole time - I mean, I never stopped. I was irritated - where were these people on the bike course? But such is triathlon - being faster in one thing never means you'll be faster on the day. And who was I to complain anyway - like I'd been putting in quality runs let alone quality bike-to-run workouts? Pffft. I was right where I deserved to be.
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| Was a super strong team debut with 3 VP'ers taking 1, 2, 3 in their AGs. |
I ran with all I had to give - which isn't much - but was actually great all things considered. In longer distances it was a given there'd be walking time - not so with just 6.2 miles to gut out. And so I came through the chute to see my teammates who'd already finished with the rest of them not too far behind me. I was wiped out and had to sit down for a few minutes but soon enough was back on my feet high-fiving and taking pics and saying "I wish we could do this every weekend!"
I was still coming down from the euphoria on Monday going through pics, pulling together a video, sending out thanks to my teammates and telling my Mom all the details. It wasn't my first triathlon of course, but it was my first in a long time and that high of rediscovering something is HUGE. And something you like! I don't even know why I stopped doing them. Maybe it's just cyclical. Or maybe things just came together at the right time - the group, friends who were doing it, my move to Marin, less time trail running, more time biking. Whatever it was, I'm grateful and can't wait for the next one. I mean, I can really - I need to train better. We'll see how that goes. It's all about enjoyment. Except those minutes leading up to the race start. Because those will always kind of suck.
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