I Am A Triathlete!

Months of training brought me to this moment! The Capital District YMCA's 13th Annual Pinebush Trathlon is just moments away from starting and we are getting some last minute pictures. I'm all smiles, excited and more than a little freaked out that this is about to go down!

With my husband Donavan

 After taking a couple "before" pictures I take note of the fact that triathletes are much more serious than 5k'ers. Everyone was "getting into the zone". I make my way over to the edge of the water, my stomach starts to churn and I totally understand why they are so serious. It's about to get real!

With some of my wonderful training friends

The swim is my biggest fear. You can tell in the following picture of me looking at the water:

Nervously asking a fellow racer exactly where we need to go

I only took my first beginning swimming class at the YMCA just 10 short months ago. I've only been training in the pool. Well, to be fair I did have one open water swim. That didn't go so well. It took me 20 minutes to get into the water and get over the slimy surface, fish and grass rubbing against my legs. Also- not being able to see a thing really freaks you out. This was going to be a challenge.

The horn goes off and I jump into the water to swim 375 yards. My fear of fish and slime go out the window and I put my head down and start to swim. I'm pleasantly surprised the water is warmer and cleaner in the Six Mile Waterworks than it was in the lake I trained!

I start out with the front stroke I worked so hard to learn in class. I had a brief flash thinking- my Y teacher would be proud. Then I realized- I couldn't breathe. Adrenaline is the equalizer. I couldn't calm myself- no matter how hard I tried. So, I flipped over on my back and started kicking, propelling myself across the water in a back stroke (without the stroke! Just the legs). I tried side stroke, flipped back over on my back. Then I tried my strongest stroke. Surly I could do the breast stroke toward the shore line. Nope. My strokes were choppy and I was very worried about my breath. I flipped over on my back and there was my swimming teacher. "Hi JoDee! Keep it up!" Brian said with a sweet smile sitting on a kayak serving as a lifeguard for our race. I smiled, flipped over and gave a half hearted attempt at front stroking past him to show I learned something from all those weeks of classes.

No matter if I was on my back or front- each lifeguard offered a positive word of encouragement and I channeled my favorite quote from the movie Finding Nemo.... "Just keep swimming!" I got out of the water in 9 minutes 54 seconds to cheering people.

My husband was in the second heat and he caught up to me in the transition area. We both dried off and changed into our sneakers. I got on my bike first and set out onto the 11.5 mile ride through the city of Albany and town of Guilderland.

The first three miles were spent trying to catch my breath from the swim and calm my nerves. I was mouth breathing and noticed my helmet was way too tight around my neck because of it and somewhere along the line I noticed my stomach was unsettled. With every volunteer I passed I was sure to say thank you. They were cheering and smiling and offering encouraging words that kept me going. Y Volunteers are so amazing!

I saw a mother and her daughter in a very quite section of the race and I teared up at the thought that they were there just to encourage us. If you've never been on a bike in a race you'll be surprised at how conservative you are when people are whizzing around and in front of you. My husband was one of them! I told him to go do his best and I'd see him at the finish line. I thought I was going much faster than the 55 minutes and 2 seconds it took me to get to the second transition area.

I got off the bike and knew my legs would feel like cinder blocks because of the lactic acid that builds up when biking. I took off slow and steady in the 5k run and it took a little longer to drain the lactic acid than I expected... but I just kept moving forward.

Volunteers and spectators offered positive comments and made me smile as I moved forward. I asked a volunteer if he saw my husband. He did and said he was just a couple minutes ahead of me. I ran faster... for a few minutes thinking maybe I could catch up. I have run this course several times and knew how far I had to go. I ended up incorporating the walk run method. I didn't want to but my tummy problems persisted. There was no way I was going to quit. As I made my way up the last big hill I looked up to the top and saw a huge crowd screaming for every racer. I told myself: I HAVE TO RUN THIS HILL! I did... and with gritting teeth and a smile!

Just when it got tough--- There he was! My husband came running toward me and said "FINISH STRONG! COME ON!" I dug deep and sped up... a lot! I whizzed up the hill with his encouragement. I once stopped on that hill and it cost me second place in a 5k in my age division. On this day- I conquered it!

As the finish line appeared in sight my hubby told me GO FOR IT! And he faded off to the sidelines to watch me finish! It was so awesome to have him there to help me push to the finish!

I finished the 5k portion 40 minutes 56 seconds. Much slower than my normal race.. but this wasn't just a normal. THIS was MY FIRST TRIATHLON! I ran my first triathlon in 1 hour 45 minutes 51 seconds! If you'd ask me a year ago if I would do a triathlon I would have laughed at you... but somewhere along the trip to health I embraced fitness.

I've learned to enjoy the sweat, hard work and determination required to feel strong. There's a certain satisfaction you earn from a hard workout. Not every workout is fun- but there is a lesson learned. That lesson: YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK! I've also learned that training can set you up for success.... but it's about showing up and just doing it that makes you a success!

I want to thank the Y volunteers and the countless citizens who came out to encourage all the athletes. Thank you YMCA for helping me build my confidence and helping my husband set a personal record. The Y's swimming, running and triathlon classes took this average girl and helped to make her a Triathlete! I feel empowered to keep pushing and getting even stronger!

Thank you YMCA for helping me achieve another goal and Rob Totaro for the great pictures! Friends contact the Y to have them help you make your fitness dreams a reality!