Sarah, yet again, became my Superwoman Training Partner sent from Heaven, and asked if I'd like to do a mini-sprint practice tri on Friday night. We would go to the metropark around 6:00 p.m., do a short swim-bike-run, and practice timed transitions. (Sounds just like a Friday night with Katy Perry, right?)
Lessons from the practice tri:
1. I still suck in the water. Open water swim is so different from the pool, primarily because I am
I also managed to swim into a recreational swimmer, and instead of being able to apologize, I inhaled a boatload (haha) of lake water and made a horrible gutteral gasping sound as I tried to inhale air where there was no room to inhale air. I tried desperately to be able to cough so I could get a good breath, but my predominant thought was, "Keep moving; don't put your feet down because Nessie is waiting for a chance to kill you."
My new open water survival plan is to stealthily tether myself to a more experienced swimmer and have her act as my seeing eye dog. This is probably against both the formal rules and the spirit of the triathlon, but would be horribly awesome if I got away with it. My triathlon is on Lake Huron and since I don't have a valid passport, it's really a matter of national security I stay on course and far away from Canada. So really, I'm just being a responsible citizen. I'll let you know how that works out.
2. I'm really
*Two weeks ago, during a brick workout (bike, then immediately run), I found myself running in that retardo "you thought your legs were controlled by your own brain but apparently they are listening to some voo-doo doctor brain that specializes in gait issues" way. I was about a half mile from home when I realized I still had my helmet on. Good thing I looked as though I needed it, or it may have been a bit embarrassing.
3. Sarah's bike makes me feel like I'm flying. She's offered to let me ride it during my tri, but I'm a bit intimidated. It's like, a road bike.
4. I should probably learn the hand signals to communicate with drivers when I'm riding my bike on the road. However, no one really knows what these mean anyway, so when I put up a hand signal, I'm really just alerting anyone in the vicinity that I'm going to do something different than what I'm doing now. For now, I just make up hand signals as I go along. Usually I throw up an upside down "M", which is my gang sign for "Midwest." I'm so street.
5. I talk incessantly. This may be no surprise to someone who knows me, but I didn't realize until I was ready to die on the run portion and couldn't talk. Sarah is a saint who
6. I am incredibly hot in my tri shorts. Like, "wow" hot. Or "oh Dear Lord" hot - I forget which one. If you are lucky, I'll post some pics* from the actual triathlon and you can witness this spectacle.
(* Who am I kidding? I will be posting pics of this triathlon for years.)
Even though the circumstances weren't the best, I'm really glad I did a practice tri. And I'm super stoked for Saturday. My goal is to finish with a smile, and I can't wait to post all about it. Providing the Loch Ness Monster doesn't get me, that is.
Ha! I love the loch ness monster of the metropark. ;) But I am sooooo impressed that you're doing a tri! You can do it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steph! I am starting to get nervous/excited. I might carry a stun gun for the loch ness monster. Probably.
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