By Popular Demand - reprint of "Our First Tri"

This is a Reprint from June 1st of 2007...

Our very first Triathlon experience:
Dave and Claudia, 49 and 48. Just heard about triathlons about 6 weeks ago. No regular athletic experience or exercise in about 10 years. 255# and 140#.

About 6 weeks ago a friend of Claudia's told her she was training for a triathlon in late August. That got Claudia thinking and she mentioned that we should try to do that. I was impressed that this gal was going to go for it. Just the word Triathlon scared the leaving bleep out of me because I had heard the word for so long and of course had images in my head of of the 20 hour Hawaiian Ironman. After thinking about it I thought to myself, "Dave, you're not involved in any team sports and you' ve looked at everything from John Basedow to Hip Hop Abs..." (yes I own both I'm ashamed to say). "This would give you a goal and some real training to do!" I saw some impressive web sites about how people had been drawn to Triathlon and gone from nothing to competing in tri's! I was very impressed. So I told Claudia I'd join her if she wanted to do it... Big commitment!

We were told there was a website that showed how you could go from couch potato to triathlete (beginner) in as little as 18 weeks... and it really looked doable. Not only that but there was a large community of triathlon clubs and support groups, amazing! (We found the Sharks! and loved all the help) If you know me, this is the part where I would start to plan my training routine and then train the rest of my life until I felt I was really ready to do it, but NOT Claudia. She immediately announced that "there is a Desert Sharks Tri with a shorter than average swim leg in just 4 weeks! We should do it! I thought she was crazy, no, I knew she was crazy and this was just inexperience with things athletic talking. I went along with the sign up process while at the same time telling friends that I wouldn't commit to do it until the very last minute, you know, I didn't want to get hurt or look stupid dropping out of the race part way. But she was determined! Other friends that had said they would do it to too dropped out one by one with really good reasons. I didn't have a good reason to droop out so to really put an end to this non-sense I went out last Tuesday night and while playing volleyball at a level above my ability proceeded to tear an adductor (groin) muscle and get a level II pull in a lower ab muscle! Now thats how to get out of a triathlon! So I resigned myself to be Claudia's cheerleader. That was until yesterday (Friday). I went to a good Physical Therapist and she worked me over pretty good and told me that the nature of the injuries, although excruciatingly painful would allow me to start spinning on a bike and swimming with my legs together or with some light flutter kicking early next week, but any running was out of the question.

As the start for "Claudia's" race got closer I began to have thoughts like "maybe I could swim real slow, bike gently and heck, I could always walk the 5k run portion" even though walking, except in very short strides was very painful... So, I decided to take all of my stuff and decide at the venue! What was I thinking?!!!

Raceday! We had no idea what to expect! We left Heber at 4:30 am for the 2 hour drive to Honeyville, home of world famous Crystal Hot springs. We arrived an hour before race time and checked in with the judges. We were given a packet with a number to stick on the bike and one to pin on your shirt when you are running. We were assigned an electronic timing chip that was strapped to our ankles like Paris Hilton under house arrest. Then, coolest of all, a guy with a black magic marker writes your number on both shoulders your age on your right calf and your event on the left. It all looks very sexy, I'd sign up for a triathlon again just to have all that written on me, it makes you feel very cool, very elite! Thats it, I decide, I'm racing!

In a triathlon the staging area is called the "transition area". This is where you change from event to event. When you are done swimming you run over (about 50 yds) to the transition area where your bike is packed like a sardine along with every one else's bikes. Here is where you also need to dry and clean your feet, put on socks and shoes and pull on a shirt if you need one (remember it has a number on it that you dont wear when you are swimming). Its your chance to rest a bit between events and catch your breath as you prepare. Its also an area where all of the competitive racers try to shave seconds as they race on. You make your change in your 4 sq ft of space, grab your bike, walk it out to the mounting area then take off on the 12 mile bike race. The transition area is also where the bike race ends. You re-stow your bike, change to running shoes if you were wearing cycling shoes and take off for the 5k. Get the picture? Remember, we were complete novices.

We had a short pre race meeting where they told us all the pertinent info (stay on the left side of the streets, no ipods or head phones, don't follow the red and white arrows, those are for the other race that overlaps ours, etc) Then, its down to the pool. This race was a 360 meter swim (about a quarter mile I think), a 12 mile bike and a 5k (3.1 mile run). They had a 40 meter pool divided into 9 lanes. When you get to the end of one, you duck under the rope and go back and forth like that until you reach the end, climb out and head for the transition area. In order to avoid pandemonium in the pool, they had us line up in the time that you thought you could swim 360 meters. Under 5 minutes, under 7, under 9 etc. Having been training for this swim for exactly 2 weeks, and knowing that the only time I had ever swam 400 meters on purpose it took me 13 minutes, I adjusted that for my pulled painful muscles and stood at the marker that read 15 minutes. Well, exactly 87 of the 90 participants lined up in front of me and the 2 that lined up behind me apparently just didnt understand the instructions.

So the race begins! The first swimmer gets his timing chip activated as he enters the water and every 10 seconds after that another. The line takes about about 30 to 45 minutes to get to me and Claudia (we both lined up at the 15 minute mark) but that gives us plenty of time to critique the other swimmers styles, cheer when the first backstroker appears in the pool and to get to know the cluster of about five 40 something average housewives that are telling each other how they've been jogging and going to the pool since January and how excited they are and what their "race strategy" is (this is cracking me up big time!). They are all planning on backstroking and I am wondering, "should I jump up ahead of this group so I dont have to battle through them in the pool?" I decide to just stick to my plan of a 15 minute swim, take it easy, dont get hurt any worse etc... I do tell Claudia that I should go ahead of her, and I officially enter the water 4th from last in the event. I've got my cool new swim goggles on and I immediately realize that now that I can see under water I can actually freestyle much better than in my 1 training attempt. I strike out, sorta dragging my legs so I don't trigger the white hot pain in my groin and abs and at about the 30 meter mark I get my first full mouth and subsequently lung of water and although Im in exactly 4 feet of water, I fear drowning! But there are hundreds of spectators still surrounding the pool cheering us all on, "What are they still doing here?" Im wondering as i gag... their loved ones are long gone! I get a pretty good breath and put my head under water and cough to clear my lungs, I do not want to be the only one to gag and choke on the first lap of the swim. By now I hit the first turn, I'm loosing ground to the next swimmer coming up behind me (its Claudia and she is about to pass me!!!) so I, completely without thinking , give myself a huge leg push at the turn to try to shoot out ahead and regain my lead... "Holy Jesus, Mary and Joseph!!!" (as my Irish Catholic friend would say) as white hot pain rips thru my tender groinery... Now I am concerned and the slightest doubt enters my head about my ability to do this. What can I do but immediately flip onto my back and start my "backstroke"?. I am all of 50 meters into this leg, I've gagged and choked, hurt myself and have just been passed by Claudia. Humbling... I keep on plugging away and I'm having real trouble because I cant kick with my left leg so I am constantly wanting to make left turns, I try to adjust because I keep having the lane divider rope rubbing my neck, but that actually makes it easier for the next 2 competitors to pass me... ugh! At about 2/3 of the way through I am hearing the cheerful voice of Claudia as she's saying "hows your leg" how ya doing?" I can't hear very well because since Im on my back both ears are under water. At one point I feel her reach into my lane and pull my arm and as I look up she is smiling and saying "Hey, just stand up, they said we could walk!" She is just beaming and plowing through 4 ft of water on her way to beat me out of the pool by about 5 minutes!

As I get to the end, all eyes are on me of course, because I am the only one in the pool! "Way to go man", "keep it up", "you can do it" come encouragement from all over. I know that they are amazed that an obviously out of shape 255 lb guy is still even in this thing! When I get to the end of the pool and step out, I start to walk forward and I have my first realization that its the "back to back" part of this race that makes this sooo hard. After a hard swim, its not easy now to just deliberately head out on foot, it seems that there must be some time to recover, get the legs back etc. I step over the wire that triggers my timing chip to record my pool time. I find my flip flops and head up the hill to the transition area. I really feel like I've accomplished a big deal already frankly, but more to go.

I get to the transition area and see Claudia has changed. She has practiced a routine where she strips naked under a lava lava (sarong) and completely changes into a sharp new outfit! She might as well have been making a sandwich and using a curling iron too she looked so at ease and refreshed but I was struggling. The smartest thing we did all day was take a "bucket" (5 gal type) into the staging area with us so we could sit to do our feet and shoes, brilliant! I towel off as good as I can quickly, I'm determined to make up some time here, so I pull off my wet swim trunks ( I have a worn my thin padded bike shorts under them) and pull on a dry pair of shorts over top, then I peel off the tight swim top I wore (so as not to make people groan at my pale white largeness) and as I stand there topless I try to quickly pull on my cool loose running shirt. Now, I have pre-safety pinned my number to my shirt in order to save time but I'm so tired and still a little wet and I just cant seem to get the shirt to go on! I am totally vulnerable here, with one arm in the air, head askew, trying to pull the shirt over my head and down my body but I just cant do it! I finally surmise that I must have put my head thru my arm hole! How did I do that? And so much for making up some time... so I rip it off, shake it out so its nice and smooth and try again. Ahhh! after just a few seconds I have done it again! "How long have I been dressing myself?" "How am I doing this?" Im thinking. I know I must look like an absolute idiot! Last out of the water, cant get himself dressed, hmmm. So, I give up, I take it off again and start from scratch, I shake out my shirt, make sure its smooth take it in both hands and prepare to flip it over my head (just like I've done since I was 5!) And then I see the problem, I have safety pinned the front of the shirt to the back when I put my number on it! What a tard! The good news is that I have burned so much time that I can now walk without shaking as I take my bike out to the mounting area. I'm sad to leave Claudia but glad to have caught and passed another racer, he he he, I tell her I'll wait but she says not to so off I go... (my transition time - almost 9 minutes)

And now begins a truly enjoyable part of my day. I didn't know it would be, but the bike ride was 100% pain free and enjoyable... except for when my chain came off. And then when it came off again, And then when my shoelace came untied and got tangled up in the sprocket and chain!!! Eegads! But other than that I made good time. I imagine how I might have done if I wasn't on a garage sale mountain bike with a frame smaller than Claudia's! Maybe even a real road bike! To my great satisfaction I caught and passed the one woman who had started after me in the pool but had passed me. Then I started wondering where the 5 housewives were and how soon they would be in my sights and fall victim to my powerful recovery! I never saw them again... I did however see Claudia, who was my inspiration in this whole event as I was biking back toward the transition area... as we passed we waved and it was good.

So, earlier I glibly made the comment that "I can always just walk the 5k". Well, guess when you CAN'T walk a 5k? When your shins are cramping, your calves are cramping, your thighs are cramping and every step feels like re-pulling the groin!!! Who knew shins could cramp? I was exactly 200 feet into to the 5k when I had my first serious doubts that I could go on. I fooled with different stride lengths, I played mental games and I walked, slowly. As I was just about 1/4 mile out the housewives passed me going the other way, cruising into the finish line. Holy cow, maybe I needed a "race strategy" too! At about 2 miles, and on my way back to the finish line I passed Claudia on her way out and she looked great! Happy and not worse for the wear, she was walking tho' and I thought she could run this, if so, I thought she might catch and pass me with my slow walk... I hoped not. When I got to within 1/2 mile to go I could see the finish line, lots of people, lots of cheering, a big inflatable arch finish line that was very dramatic and tables full of bananas, grapes, oranges etc... it was very satisfying to make the last turn and head the final 100 feet to the 'big arch' and the waiting attendants that took my timing chip, gave me a token of the race and congratulated me on my performance!

Also though, I now knew what all the cheering was about as I was getting close... I was so late getting in that the awards ceremony was already almost over when I crossed the line! Oh well, my goal was to finish, my bigger goal was to finish in under 2.5 hours... I am proud to say I did both!!!

I quickly ran and got my camera, went to the finish line happily waiting to congratulate Claudia.... to be there for her when she crossed. I positioned myself at the finish line, turned on the camera and was all ready... and I waited... and waited. After a while I went up to the timing people and asked and they assured me there was still "1 runner out on the course". I felt proud that they were talking about Claudia that way. "One runner still out on the course"... it conjures up images of the great human struggle to succeed, overcoming odds and adversity and maybe even featuring her on the evening news... then, without warning, they unplugged the big inflatable arch and started packing it up! I was incredulous! They can't do that! There is a drama unfolding here! I went to the nearest race official to protest, and the response was "oh good, she has a loved one here, we were hoping there was someone here waiting for her". "We sent the Highway patrol out to find her and they just radioed back, it seems she's looking at the local real estate... are you guys planning on buying out here?" Oh my Goodness!!! I couldn't believe it! Oh well, its a lovely area, who could pass up a flyer on a for sale sign? About 5 minutes later we all see her making the last turn. The announcer stops announcing the winners of the kids triathlon that started 2 hours after ours and announces "every body give a big cheer for our final runner!!!" The place erupted! I was sooo proud and snapped the picture below...

What a day! Thank you Claudia for inspiring me, and putting some fun in the day... we will do this again, we're hooked.


Results:

Dave - Swim: about 13 minutes, Bike: avg speed about 13 mph and 58 minutes, Run: I walked, time was about 55 minutes.
Claudia- Swim: 10 minutes 43 seconds, Bike avg speed 10 mph and 71 minutes, Run: about 52 minutes

Claudia finished 4th in her age group and I would have actually Medaled in 3rd place had I signed up in the correct age group! Shocking!

Youngest guy on the team!

So, I said I was going to try to get on a softball team this year and try to get back into a 'ball playin' frame of mind and alas, I was finally successful! The County of Salt Lake has the good taste to have formed a softball league for 50 - 55 year olds... I was so surprised to hear this. So I got a list of managers from the county and sorta let my intuition pick a a few of them to call so I could see what the reaction would be to me just calling and asking if they needed a player. I went from being really bold and courageous about just finding a team to really timid about it when I actually dialed the phone... and much to my delight, the calls went to voicemail! So I left my info and story about wanting to play and left it at that. It took 3 weeks but last week when I was in Seattle taking a Heathy Weight Management class I got a call out of the blue and it was coach asking if I wanted to play. The rules made my sit out 1 more week but last night I was able to play!!!

Claudia went downstairs and pulled out the last uniform pants I have played in and I did my best to pull them on... OMG, I looked like Chris Farley in a leotard! I was able to get them done up but it was a maximum load on that heavy duty fabric. No good. So I stopped by Sports Authority and super sized my pants and headed out.

The cool thing about this league is that as my softball career has matured, every five years or so I found that I would have to shift from one skill position to the next because I was older, slower and there were younger guys coming out of high school or college with really good skills. So, over the years I moved from Short Stop to 3rd, then to 2nd base and finally I figured if I was going to play at all I needed to learn to pitch and play 1st base!

I told the coach I was a middle infielder (hoping desperately he wouldnt put the new guy in the outfield) and much to my surprise he started me at 2nd base! This was great, it would give me a chance to start out slowly and regain my 'sea legs' so to speak. So, out on the field I run... yep, run. I felt like a kid, all my old fundamentals kicked in. Stuff like always run between the lines, (that means whenever you step across the first base or third base lines onto the field, you hussle, no slacking). I'm happy to say that on the field as well my hussle and solid fundamentals really inspired the team.

Anyway... bottom line is, by the third inning the coach asked me to go over to short stop!!! by then I had just hit my 2nd triple and scored my 5th RBI. It was great! Not only am I not to old and slow to play on this league, I'm the youngest guy on the team!!! What a great day! In fact, during the game the coach pulled me aside and said "we're just a pretty good team, and you are going to get recruited be one of the other really good teams. So, if you want to go, its ok with me"... well, I was quite surprised. I told him that I appreciated him picking me and I wasn't going anywhere. But it might be nice to get picked up by a tournament team to play on weekends! We'll see.

As for my trainging... I ran this morning for 5 minutes... it still hurts so bad to run. When will it stop hurting and be fun? I haven't run since the second week in April, bad dave... but, I really did feel lighter and quicker last night than I thought, so just the little bit of working out I have done was noticeable last night on the ball field. Awesome!!!

Stats update: I've lost 4 lbs, but I feel much better (except for the long distance running), I felt great on the base paths. I'll write about the Healthy Weight Management class in my next post. But whats working for me are the 'balances' and the Hunger Scale... more later.