A Triathlon Precap – Can’t, Competition, and Community

It’s been about a year and a half since I raced in my first sprint triathlon. I can still remember exactly what I said after crossing the finish line:

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I went on to say, “I’m never doing that again.” It was part “won’t do it again” and part “can’t.” It was hard and the swimming just about did me in. I had no idea what I was getting into even though I had done some training and the experience was described to me. Still though, sometimes you just don’t know what things are going to be like until you do them yourself. A recap of that experience (if you feel like laughing along with me) can be read here.

Spoiler alert: I DID do that again and you know what, I’m doing it AGAIN tomorrow! I’ve become slightly attached to these races for a few reasons. Obviously the competition is a big part of it, the challenge of pushing myself to get faster, stronger, etc. …even though it might be true that people are past their athletic prime when they get in their 40s. Another part is the enjoyment of being involved in sporting events. The training, the sweat, the almost-gonna-throw-up feeling, sun coming up over the transition area as dozens (or hundreds) of people prepare. But also… the community. I’ve made great friends who encourage, inspire, give tips, and are in each other’s corner every step of the way. That’s been a really wonderful thing to experience.

For this race in particular, here are a few elements I’m very curious about: the location of the swimming (ocean) and the quality of my running (since I’ve gotten in the habit of training intervals before the sun comes up every Tuesday morning – more on that here).

I’m excited. This is a popular race so I have tempered my expectations about my results, but still have goals. I’ll update with another post, post-race!

-Out of the Wilderness