I am a Triathlete now :)

Triathlete

n. a person who doesn't understand that one sport is enough.

Play hard

DREAM BIG

smile often

and NEVER

give up

Before I tell you about my newest Adventure I'd like to Thank Michelle for always being by my side. Thank you for your support in everything I do. Also Thank you to Keith for being part of my Adventure and for taking all these amazing photos. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction when I needed it most. And at last Thanks to everyone else who believed in me.

Ok here we go. Well first of all let me tell you - I did not plan on becoming a triathlete. Well at least not when I started swimming. I started end of February 2016 and did only a handful of swims between Feb and April. In May I decided I wanted more and started going just for fun 3times a week. I liked it. I even became a morning person, lol :) Everything changed on June 10th when I received a message from my friend about the Chaparral tri which would be Aug 7th ... I talked to my boss and baaam ... June 20th we were signed up. Now I had to train ... and try to do some  open water swims.

Michelle and I did 3 open water practice swims. 1st at McKenzie Lake were we did about 500m ... It was my first time in a Lake (not counting Quarry Lake a year ago) and it freaked me out a bit. I can swim 1500m in the pool at Talisman but Lake swimming is very different. 2nd Lake Chaparral 1hour 1.0K. We did one long loop with breaks here and there. That's when I decided that 1500m would be to much for my first triathlon. I switched from the Olympic 1500m to the Sprint 750m the following day. 3rd Lake Chaparral - I spent only about 15min in the water and did 350m. I didn't feel so well that day. That's all we could do because two days after our 3rd Lake swim was our Tritahlon.

Ok now - keep on reading or you won't know the stories to all the amazing photos. (photo credit: Keith Cartmell)

RACE MORNING

It was a bit cold at 6am but we were excited to be there :)

Getting up early doesn't bother me anymore. Michelle wanted to be at Chaparral at 6am and we were there at 6:04 :) We had lots of time for bike check, body marking, set up and a quick look and walk around the transition area. We also had time for a few photos of course ;) I love that I am able to share my adventures with one of my clostest friends. She has been there for my first 10K, first half mararthon and first marathon. She was also part of the IronMan relay team and saw me finish my 90K bike ride. And now it was time to become a triathlete :) So here we go ... Let's start with part Nr 1.


SWIM
750m in 21:05

Trying to get comfortable in the 16degrees cold water before
the start.

Michelle started an hour before I did because she did the Olympic distance. When it was my time - I got in the water to get comfortable with the 16degrees cold water. Then everyone had to get out and wait on the beach for the start signal. And off we went. I found it cold but as soon as I started swimming I felt fine. I swam with the front crawl for a bit but decided to see how I would do with breaststroke. I like front crawl but breaststroke lets me see where I am going. 

Very happy I made it through my swim!

I was in the back with 2 men and a woman. I was very happy when I passed the turnaround and only had to swim back to shore. In the end I pushed myself a little and passed two more men. I'd tell you that felt pretty awesome. I was very happy when I was able to leave the water. All I thought was - Woohoo - I did it. I did the first part of my triathlon. Wow. I headed to transition and got changed for part two.







Bike
22.8K in 57.06

Transition Swim to Bike

Transition was quick and off I went. Biking was great. I knew I would make some good time. I didn't worry much about the biking part after my resent 90K bike ride just two weeks before my triathlon. I am glad my friend Michelle told me that I had to do 3 loops though. I thought I only had to do 2. I felt great and was happy that I was done with the hill after doing it 3times.

One more loop to go!

There were a lot of other bikers around me but there wasn't really anyone to follow. Everyone had their own pace. So I made sure to count each volunteer that I saw 3 times. Having to bike only one hill in each round made the count pretty easy too. When I finished my ride I headed in to transition for part 3.



Run
5.5K in  41.38

Transition Bike to Run

Almost done! Swim-Bike-Run

All I had to do in transition was hang up my bike and take off my helmet. And off I went for my final part of my first triathlon. My run was slow. Actually all I wanted to do was take a nap :) I haven't been running at all for a while and did a run/walk. I didn't really care about my running time - all I wanted was to finish. I  know my run could have been a bit better but I am happy with my first triathlon.

Before the race I thought - Lake swimming is not for me and I thought I would be happy when it was over. And YES I was happy when I was done BUT I was also a bit sad. All I can say now is - I would totally do it again. Maybe the same race next year. :)

 

Finished in 1:59:48 

Happy!!

  That's Just The Beginning :)

When I started swimming I was glad when I made it to the other side of the pool. I remember I had to take breaks after each 25m I did. AND now ... I actually did and open water race. I am amazed. Can't wait for a new Adventure. 

I've never really learned the front crawl. I just had to teach myself and I am very happy with my progress over the past few month.
   
May 4th 2016 1.0K in 01:07:00
May 29th 2016 1.10K in 00:34:00
June 17th 2016 1.70K in 00:52:00
July 18th 2016 1.50K in 00:52:30
Aug 1st 2016 1.0K in 00:30:00
Aug 12th 2016 2.0K in 00:56:00 longest swim yet

The Yarn Bombers Rocked It

Ironman Calgary 70.3 relay team - Yarn Bombers

July 24th, 2016

I have so many great things I'd like to blog about but haven't had time to do so. I am back now and I would love to get back to my Adventure blogs. But for now lets stay here. This blog will be a bit different. This blog will include Michelle's, Jennifer's and my point of view.

   

Swim - Bike - Run (photo credit: Keith Cartmell)

It all started with Michelle. She posted this "RUN & BIKE FRIENDS WANTED" March 19th 2016 on FB! I remember sitting beside her and I saying "pick me, pick me!" She got a few replies and had to create two teams instead of one :) March 30th was the day we were registered as team Yarn Bombers and I realized what I had done. I slowly started freaking out but I knew all I could do was training, training, training. And that I did.

Ok now, lets have a look at the point of views from the three of us. It starts with the swim :)

Michelle - Swim 1900m (more like 1750m she said) in 42:46

I woke up around 3 a.m. (an hour earlier than my alarm) so just got up to have breakfast and get ready.  Antje and I drove to the start for 6 a.m., parked at the hospital and got Jennifer to do our body marking. Then I pulled on my wetsuit while checking the bike.  Once on the beach, a friend reminded me to go dunk myself, then the team relay wave horn went off before I was really ready.  I ran and threw myself in and swam, getting bumped by some of the faster men passing me but not kicked.  I remember not really liking the experience for the first part of the race.  It was chaotic but things changed and I started to enjoy the race.

(photo credit: Keith Cartmell)

I got off course a bit at times and stopped once to dunk my foggy goggles and keep going.   At one point I was swimming next to a guy doing the breaststroke and tried to stay out of the way of his kick.  There was another guy doing head-up front crawl. I choked on a splash from another swimmer, gulped in a cup of water, but just kept dog paddling, coughing and choking, wheezing until my breathing returned to normal.  Face down, arms forward, pull, kick, keep moving…

I could see the triple yellow triangle buoys and knew I was almost done.  I kept swimming toward the shore until I could dig my hands into the sand before jumping up to run over the finish line, and ran into the tennis court to hand off the timing chip where Antje was waiting to head off on her 90K ride.  I had time for a coffee and a shower while Antje biked before heading to T2.  The rest of the story belongs to Antje and Jennifer…

I loved the experience and am grateful for my team.  I hope Antje and Jennifer had as much fun as I did.  I know we all trained hard and got out there and did our best on a really hot day.   I even learned to crochet so I could be part of Team Yarn Bombers!  Next year, I look forward to doing this race again (swim, bike and run). 

Myself - Bike 90Km in 3:26:41

I didn't mind getting up early because I was used to it from going swimming 3 times a week at 5:15am. I felt "alright" in the car all things considered. The moment we got to Auburn Bay I started feeling nauseous. I asked myself - What the hell did you do? Are you sure you are ready? I was worried finishing my bike ride in time. I knew Jennifer depended on it. We quick checked my bike and Michelle got into her wetsuit. Surprisingly the moment Michelle got into the water I started to relax. I knew I did all I could. I was ready I really wanted to do this. For me and for my team.

I saw Michelle coming out of the water and heading towards me. She handed me the timing chip and off I went. 

And I am off. (photo credit: Keith Cartmell)

Auburn Bay to 37th St was new to me and I looked ahead and wondered - if 37th St will be far. I couldn't bike the entire route in training but my lovely friends drove the route with me once. 

I loved being among all the other riders (kinda was nervous that I would be slow and alone - silly me). I past a handful of people which was enough for me and everyone that passed me commented on my amazing Cookie Monster Jersey :) It was a hard ride but it was so worth it. I tried to focus on parts of the ride instead of the entire ride at once. I got very emotional in Bragg Creek because I biked 52K in 2:12:25 and I knew I had less then half to go. The second time I got very emotional and had a hard time focusing on my ride was when I headed down the last hill to T2. I checked the time and realized I would finished in 3 1/2 hours ... I was so surprised, overwhelmed and just happy ... I almost cried. I reached the bottom of the hill where I had to get off my bike. I headed to T2 and looked for Michelle and Jennifer. I gave up my timing chip and I was done. Woohoo. Wow. Amazing. I did it.  Very happy I was part of this team. I would definitively do it again :)

Now have a look at the run and final part of our team triathlon.

Jennifer - Run 21.1K in 2:31:41 

I decided to be apart of a little adventure.  A couple/few months back Michelle made a Facebook post asking if anyone would be interested in being a part of a relay team for Calgary 70.3.  I didn’t even hesitate, I jumped at the chance to be a part of a race that I have been dying to participate in (not just volunteer).  After all was said and done and we were registered as team Yarn Bombers I started to panic.  I don’t like depending on people as I have been let down before and this whole process was starting to get stressful for me. 

photo credit: Jax Olar

Anyways…. fast forward to July 24, 2016.  Even though I was running in the afternoon I still felt the need to volunteer in the morning, I did body marking and wetsuit stripping (and if I wasn’t going to do the entire race myself next year I would do it again, LOVED IT!).  It was a great experience to be at the start of the race and get to see everyone start and end their swim.  Then the fun part started…. waiting!  Once I left Auburn Bay I headed to North Glenmore Park and waited for what seemed like forever. 

Michelle and I waited in T2 for Antje to get back (which she did fantastically awesome!!), got a quick pic, and took off on what ended up being a tough run.  It had to be about 26*C!  Gross!  Not ideal running weather!  But that’s ok, it is what it is.  By some chance by best friend who did the entire race caught up to me on the run!  I don’t know how it would have went if she wasn’t there suffering with me. 

The aide stations were fantastic!  Who knew that having a bit of Coke mid run would be a great idea?  LOVED it!  Other than the coke the ice and wet sponges were probably my favourite part.  

Like any other race the first 2/3 or so of it went well (thank goodness for the shade!) and then the heat and hills started to play catch up. 

After all is said and done I had a great experience doing the relay with these lovely ladies, although I don’t think I will be in any rush to do another (I think I put more stress on myself this time around than when I run solo).

Finish - 6:43:53

Thank you Ladies for an amazing day. Very happy my first relay was with you two on my team.

Happy Training For Your Next Adventure!