New England Triathlons for Newbies

From childhood through college, I was a competitive swimmer.  Even after college, I stayed in shape.  However, after having two children, my physique no longer represented my peek form, no matter how hard I worked out.  I found myself impressed by the motivation, dedication, and fit appearance of two of my friends who had been meeting with personal trainers at the Y, so last June I decided to bite the bullet and shell out the money for some sessions for myself.  The personal trainer really changed how I worked out making it a much better experience for me.

This fall, I spun forward into a spinning class and felt even more fit.  I began talking with one of the above-mentioned friends about how I would really like to do a triathlon.  After all,  with a background in swimming and growing proficiency in cycling, all I really needed to work on to do a triathlon was the running.  Yeah, that's all.  As I joked about it a lot, I heard stories about triathlons designed for those unready to compete in the Olympics.  The idea sank in that a triathlon wasn't such a stretch for me. 

I began planning on doing the Danskin  Women's Triathlon in Webster.  I like the idea that it's just for women, and, as I have learned from many prior participants, the women who do it come in all different shapes and sizes.  I don't want to look like the obvious "mom".  I don't want to be the only woman who is trying to get back into shape, who lacks a professional triathlete's body, and who is losing weight on the dominant side of her body so that one breast is  currently smaller than the other to the extent that she has to inconspicuously adjust that side of her sports bra during spinning class.   (Alright, I can live with being the only woman who fits that last criterion, but I still might not have to.)  Finally, I appreciate the fact that no matter how poorly I do, I won't finish last; the spokeswoman always makes sure that she is the last to finish. 

This past Monday at spinning class, I learned some valuable lessons on the embarrassing situations that I will most likely absolutely encounter when I do my first triathlon or ride my new bike for the very time this spring for that matter.   I also learned about good MA triathlons for newbies.  The spinning instructor informed me that while the Webster Danskin triathlon is really good overall for newbies, the biking part is challenging.  Apparently it's not so much the uphill part that's scary, but the downhill.  She said it's really steep.  In fact, some people get off of their bikes and walk down the hill.

Well, that's something new to think about!  I figured that the only reason why I would walk down a hill, would be if I were too tired.  Perhaps the lure of the finish line with the key word being finish would be enough to keep me going.  This new information gave me sudden flashes of not being able to get my feet out of the clipless pedals and rolling down the hill bike and all.  Then I felt a sense of calm come over me as I remembered that I had just heard only moments before that I would most likely fall when animately talking to someone and standing still on my bike, not when on the move.  With my record for rolling into embarrassing situations, I felt safe about the hill. Let's be honest, if I see a really steep hill, I'm hitting my brakes the moment I start to descend.  Plus the instructor offered to do practice runs on the course with me this spring! 

The instructor and my classmates told me there are many other good triathlons in MA for newbies, but they recommended that I start with the Sudbury Spring Sprint triathlon.  That one is particularly good because the whole thing is a lot shorter.  More importantly, to me anyway, the bike course if flat.  It's even noted on the description of the triathlon.  Just the name itself sounds inviting.  Now I did hear the words "baby triathlon" used to describe it a few times, but that just confirmed for me that it would be a great first experience.  The only downside is that it fills really fast.  I registered last night.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Comments

[Fairly Odd Mother]

Good for you Alex! I can't wait to hear how things go for you and maybe you'll even inspire me to do something healthy. I have that 'old dogs, new tricks' saying in my head lately that I need to erase.

[Pinks & Blues Girls]

Wow, Alex... I too am going to attempt the Danskin Triathlon! I can swim. I can bike. I can run. "Can" being the operative word. I am not very good at any of them, but at 55, I need to do something challenging for myself. My goal is to train and to finish. My daughter-in-law Nicole trained for this triathlon last year and felt exhilarated that she finished. Actually, she is a great inspiration for me to challenge myself in this endeavor. I am so very excited to know you are doing this too! Can't wait to begin!

[Kami]

SO impressed, you go Alex!

can't wait to hear how it went :-)

[Sarah at In the Trenches of Mommyhood]

That's awesome! I'll be following your journey. I was going to do the Danskin one last year, but missed the signups, and then discovered I really enjoy running. So hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a few half marathons this spring!

[Ophelia Rising]

Good luck to you, with much admiration!

I grew up in Sudbury. It's a nice town - hope you enjoy it!