Posted on RunningMania, on Saturday, August 1st:
A week ago, I went swimming. While I was swimming, I thought that I could do the try-a-tri at the National Capital Triathlon and I signed up for it. I haven’t trained for it. Since June, I swam 3 times and I ran about 25K. The only sport where I did some training was the cycling part of the triathlon and most of it was through my daily 15K commute. To say I was undertrained is an understatement.
The day started well. I was excited about the race! But as we got ready to leave, JF got some problems with his bike which meant that we left 30 minutes later than planned: at 9am, when my race was starting at 10am. During the drive, I lost it. I started crying because I was stressed, but also because I couldn’t be resilient this morning. This was too much to ask. For 15 months, I have been resilient: putting up with every stepback. I couldn’t face another barrier on race day.
Not when I was ready for the race. We made it to the race site in record time. By 9:45, I was good to go. I was nerveous, but OK.I started swimming and the fear hit me. The whole swim, I was in a panicky state and I couldn’t catch my breath. The dark waters of the river were making me real uncomfortable. At some point, I started thinking of Spencer and his famous words: “keep going, never give up” and this kept me going. I kept going until I made it out of the water. I wasn’t last!
I used my hybrid bike for the 20K bike leg. I wouldn’t say it was a mistake, because it kept the bike fear at bay, but it definitely slowed me down. On the first loop, my hands got numb from the bike gloves I was wearing, I think, because it happened a few times on my commute. On the second loop, I started having a very nasty headache above my right eye. I thought I might have been dehydrated or overheating, so I stopped on the side of the course to drink, poor water on my head and back and massage my temples. Eventually, I
re-adjusted my bike helmet and most of the headache went away, to be replaced by intense back pain. The way back was brutal, with a slight uphill the whole time. On my road bike, I don’t feel it as much, but on the hybrid, I was slowed down by a lot. At that point, JF had passed me and I knew he would get to the finish line before me and it was OK.The run was so hard. It was only 2K, but I didn’t have any energy left. By that time, I was overheating from being under the sun for so long. Luckily, I had brought my water bottle with me and it was a life saver. I walked a lot… but I also ran as much as I could. Then came the finish line. I didn’t have anything left for a final push. I was spent. And I wasn’t last!
Here is why I am proud: I gave everything I had on the course today. I faced challenging situations and I made the best out of the cards I was dealt. I have had my revenge today and have left the past behind. I’m back!
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