Place: Huntington State Park
Distance: Sprint
Swim: 25:54
T1: 2:38
Bike: 50:27
T2: 1:32
Run: 27:50
Total: 1:48:21
OA: 17/53
AG: 4/9
After getting in my head the idea that I should do a triathlon, I purchased a road bike. This had been after a few months of riding a mountain bike with slick tires. During that time I had also been running and swimming in preparation for this event. As a youth I participated in the Boy Scouts of America where I learned how to do many swim strokes. I even completed a mile swim at a summer camp one year. During my high school years, I had also taken on several weeks of lifeguard training and became a certified life guard which meant laps in the pool every day. I felt I was prepared for triathlon swim training. I purchased a membership to the Dimple Dell Recreation Center and jumped into the pool for my first time in probably 9 years. I figured 20 laps should be a pretty easy effort. After 2 laps I thought I was going to die. I researched swimming online. I watched YouTube videos on proper swim stroke and I practiced, practiced, practiced. Come race day I was still not prepared but I looked at the race ahead and figured, this is my first race. All I want to do is finish. I made a plan.
First, I would finish the 750 m swim any way I could. During my boy scout years, they taught us that if in open water you can practically swim forever doing the elementary back stroke. I made it up in my mind that I would swim freestyle as long as I could then flip over and swim on my back until I felt rested. After the swim, I would get to ride my bike. Cycling had been my passion for many years so I was not at all concerned about the 15 mile bike. I had been a fair runner in high school and college and I knew I could run the 5k, I just wasn't sure how I could handle a 5k run after a swim and a bike ride so I figured I would walk if I needed to and run when I could. The weekend of race day loomed over me and I became more and more nervous. The night before the race we traveled to Huntington State Park to pick up my packet and to eat the pre-race meal that had been provided. After dinner we drove to my parent's house and I spent a restless night tossing and turning and dreaming of the possibility of somehow failing.
After waking. I drove to the park and prepared my transition area. This was my first race so I kind of had no idea what I was doing but I was confident in the research I had done and prepared as best as I knew how. I grabbed my cap and goggles and walked down to the waters edge amidst throngs of people clad in neoprene. Wetsuits! In the depths of my research I had come across something about wearing wetsuits during the swim for warmth but when I looked them up they were all north of $200 and I was not about to spend that much on a piece of equipment for a sport I wasn't sure I was going to continue. While getting ready for the race, I bumped into an old high school friend, Amber. Since our high school years, Amber had become a swimmer and was confident in her task of finishing the swim leg of the relay she was doing with her mom and her brother. We chatted while she slipped into here wetsuit and I just stood there wishing I had some neoprene as well. I was probably one of two people not wearing a wetsuit but I had grown up swimming in the cool waters of the lakes of the Manti La-Sal National Forest so I figured I would be just fine. The race director announced the start, we all entered the water and we were off!
I made it probably 200 yards into the swim when I could not breathe anymore so I followed my plan and flipped over to turtle style swim to the first buoy. While swimming, another racer bumped into me and asked if I was quitting. I stopped and tread water while telling him I had no such plan. He informed me that I was swimming back to shore. I looked and sure enough I had somehow turned around and was pointing straight back to shore. I kept swimming on my back, stopping every so often to check my heading. When I felt rested, I would freestyle my way through the water. When I got tired, back to elementary. While in the water I cursed myself for even entering this race thinking that it was a terrible idea. I wasn't having any fun and I was never doing to do this again. Eventually the horror ended. I made it back to shore where I climbed the boat ramp into transition. When I made it into transition, I was surprised to see Amber standing there out of breath, fresh from her effort. I was surprised that she had not done better. She lamented at her effort and commented that open water swimming was a little different than pool swimming. I assured her that it was as I slipped on my socks and bike shoes. I said my goodbyes and took off on the bike.
I am writing this post a good 8 1/2 years after the race so my memory is a little fuzzy about the specific details of this race. It was however, my first so there are parts of the race frozen in my mind forever. Most of the bike ride of this race is not one of those parts. If you have ever done a triathlon you know that a good portion of it is mindless pushing on, relying on your training to keep you going. Most races, I don't remember much of the swim, the bike or the run. For this race, I do remember passing men from the search and rescue of Emery County, who were the beneficiaries of the proceeds of this race, on ATVs scattered along the bike course to help any stragglers. I remember passing Amber's mom and cheering her on. I remember climbing the last steep hill to the turnaround. I remember refilling my water at the aid station before starting back to race central. I remember the exhilaration as I descended that hill and screamed on my bike back to the race finally realizing that I had actually been climbing the whole time on this course. I also remember the relief mixed with anxiety as I rode to the bike finish to start the run, unsure of what would happen next. I consoled myself and remembered to stick to the plan of walking if I had to just get to that finish line. I dismounted my steed, sauntered into transition where I removed my helmet and bike shoes and stepped into my running shoes along with a hat. I exited transition and ventured into the unknown.
Years before this race I attended Emery High School where I ran track my junior and senior year. During those years I learned the names of several Emery High School "legends". I also made many friends that ran along side me every day after school. Before the race I bumped into Stanton, one of my old track buddies. I also ran into Kristy, one of the legends of Emery High school track. I made my way through the camp ground and eventually onto the dam which led us on a path circumventing the lake. While on the dam, I was passed by a guy named Merlin. He is Amber's brother and he was on a blistering pace. Shortly after that I was passed by Stanton, my old high school track running buddy. The first aid station came shortly after I was passed by Stanton and I drank that water like I had never had water before. I left the aid station and pushed on, running the whole time. About mile two, we closed in on another aid station. I again availed myself of the volunteer's service and turned around to see Kristy closing on me. I remembered that I had passed her on the bike. I remmeber aying hello and thinking how neat it was to be passing such a phenomenal athlete. When I saw her closing on me during the run, I was tired. Every part of me wanted to walk so I could just finish the race and be done with triathlon forever. I had a good time on the bike but the swim was terrible and the run was hurting and I had had enough. Then I realized that I was about to be passed by a girl and my legs took over my brain functions and I put all thoughts of walking out of my mind. She chased me for the last miles. Hearing her footfalls behind my silenced the screaming in my legs to stop. Finally we hit the last 100 yards where we passed the finish line and made one final loop around the campground. I don't think I had ever seen anything so glorious as that red and blue arch. I gave one last push around the loop and in the final 30 yards I passed Stanton.
I found Kathy Jo and my mom shortly after finishing. They both hugged me and told me how neat it was that I had finished. We headed back to mom and dad's house and I spent the rest of the weekend in a post race glow that lasted all weekend. I spent the rest of the fall continuing to ride and occasionally running and swimming... I think... It's been a long time since then and I didn't keep accurate... or any records of my training. Eventually I found other races I thought would be fun and signed up. Keep your peepers ready for more triathlon recaps. Next up: You can do a triathlon swim in a pool? WHAAAAAAT!?
