I’m going to die.
Swimming Terror
This was the thought that ran through my head about 50 meters into a 400 meter, open water swim during the Matoon Lake Triathlon. My goal of 107 years of existence seemed in jeopardy. I seriously considered turning around. However, I’d never had a DNF and the drive to avoid that overrode my fear. Seems stupid in retrospect.
As I struggled to advance to the buoy 100 meters away from shore, I switched from the standard crawl stroke and rolled on my back to do a back stroke. Having my mouth and nose out of the water made it seem less scary. Unfortunately, it also slowed me down significantly.
By the time I was exiting the water, 17 minutes after starting, only 3 people were still swimming. I was solidly in 72nd place.
Note to self – Either practice swimming some more or never do a triathlon again!
Biking with determination
After surviving the swim, I felt exhausted but also had a sense of determination. There were 70+ people in front of me and I was going to do everything I could to catch some of them.
I passed the first competitor a half mile after starting. There were 3 more within reach and I passed them a few minutes later. Each person passed made me feel stronger and stronger. Biking was an event I could embrace. I especially liked the fact that there was little chance of dying.
At the turn-around point, I had passed 7 people and had 6 more in my sights. A stiff wind picked up and my butt started to get sore. The euphoria of surviving the near-death experience had worn off. Peddling was getting hard. I missed my friendly joggling Gballz.
Despite being tired and sore, I managed to pass 5 more people and move up to 59th place. “It’s better than being dead,” I thought.
Refreshing run
When I hopped off the bike, my legs buckled and I nearly collapsed. I couldn’t believe how awkwardly my legs were behaving. I was only on the bike for 47 minutes! Apparently, I should have spent more time on the bike too.
I quickly removed my helmet, took a swig of Powerade, picked up my joggling bags and was off for the run. Now this was familiar territory. I knew how to run.
Unfortunately, my legs were rebelling. Each step felt like my shoes were glued to the asphalt. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Joggling a 5K should have been a piece of cake but I was barely moving.
After about half a mile, things finally loosened up. I started gaining ground on the guy in front of me and then started passing. The temperature sored to over 90F and I was sweating profusely. But even as the droplets of water were flinging off my joggling balls I managed to get faster and pass people.
At the 1 mile mark my friend John Kelly and I crossed paths. He was coming back and only had one mile to the finish line. I knew I wasn’t going to catch him.
I coasted the rest of the run and tried to enjoy myself. No longer did I have to worry about dropping out or drowning. I just had to keep my eyes focused forward and continue joggling. It felt great.
Joggling to the Finish
When I got near the finish line, I spent the rest of the energy in my legs. There was a smattering of applause from a few spectators and finished athletes who looked on. As I went under the finishing arch I threw a bean bag up high and caught it on the other side. The volunteer who was collecting timing chips gave me a smile and said, “Hey that’s pretty neat!”
I smiled and thanked her. I was happy this experience was over. My final time was 1:33:40 and I came in 46th place overall. However, in the Clydesdale division, I finished second and got a trophy! I’ve never gotten a trophy for a race.
I’m not sure if I’m going to do another triathlon any time soon, but I can tell you this. If I do, I’m going to do a LOT more swimming!
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice!
Congratulations! Well done, and well written! I can barely swim or bike… I won’t take the familiarity of running/joggling for granted after reading this.
ROFL… You are too funny Perry!
Most people swim like they are afraid. You learn to relax first, then race. Great job!!
Hey, you survived! As a long-time marathoner, you can hardly be surprised by the whole “inadequate training = painful performance,” now can you? Kudos for going out at all, even though you knew you weren’t really ready, and double kudos for providing us all with such an interesting race report.
My immediate question in my mind when I started reading this was, “How did he juggle while he was swimming? And what would you call that, jwimming?”
Nice work – I have yet to make my triathlon debut.
@Wes – Hopefully my next triathlon experience won’t be as unnerving.
@Blaine – A goal of mine is to actually do a triathlon while juggling the entire time. I still need to figure out the swim part but it will probably involve swimming on my back and juggling up. On the juggling forums we came up with lots of different ideas for what you call it. Swuggling & Swiggling were the most popular.
@Greg, Jason & Joe – Thanks!
Looks like I won’t be swuggling a triathlon anytime soon here in the Gulf Coast of Florida, unless I decide to use tar balls as juggling equipment.
It’ll be fun to do one someday, Perry. It’s totally unnecessary, but I like it because it’s never been done before and because it broadens people’s eyes to what’s possible. People automatically have a reaction that swimming and juggling at the same time is impossible- but you have to think outside of the box to make it work. It’s not the best juggling combination in the world, but it can be done safely with some endurance, determination, and patience. It would be an experimentation in movement combination and ingenuity, with a heavy dose of ridiculousness.
All I can say is…when you try it, let me see how much plane tickets cost, and at the very least get somebody to record it on video…
@Moore lol!
Yes, it will be on film, I’m sure whether me or Perry does it.
Need a pretty skilled videographer for that one…
Congratulations, Perry! My sole experience of the swim leg of the triathlon felt much the same — In at the deep end — even though it was in the pool and I’m a reasonably strong swimmer. Open water must be simply terrifying.
The bike leg was an amazing education in that I’d never seen so many carbon-fibre machines in one place before. The numbly uncoordinated run which followed sounds similar to yours as well — legs moving but no pace at all resulting.
It’s the London to Brighton Bike Ride here this weekend. 55 miles from city to coast, and if the weather’s fine I’m hoping to cycle back home afterwards to make it a round 100.
“If you see me anywhere near a bike again, you can shoot me.”. That’s what I said last year, emulating a famous Steve Redgrave quote after the Atlanta Olympics…
We’ll see how well that thought holds up on Sunday evening. Keep up the great work!