that my friends is what i set out to accomplish this morning for the very first time. and i am proud to say i did it! a guy at work started a program he named 'fit for all'. the past few saturdays, those who choose to participate meet at the beach and endure triathlon training. today was the first opportunity i was able to make it. chris went to walmart and got a bike rack that goes in your hitch receiver so i could load my bike and take. i put the thing together last night but apparently did not follow directions very well because it was loose once in the hitch. truth be told, i didn't even look at the directions. so i packed my bike into the back of the truck and got all my gear together the night before so i could be ready.
i meet about four other guys from work at 6:30 this morning at the beach and was briefed on the different routes. you had the option of doing the 1/4 or 1/2 mile swim to start with. of course i opted for the 1/4 since this was my first time attempting something of this caliber. for the bike portion, you could either do 11 miles or 22 miles, once again, i opted the shorter distance. the run was the same for everyone, sorta... approximately 3.2 miles. i however probably did about 3.5 to 4 miles (i'll explain later).
the water could not have cooperated any more. it was smooth as glass which was perfect for me. luckily the water was clear too. i was swimming by myself and had to also keep an eye out for creatures lurking around me. i probably did a little longer than the 1/4 mile due to my swimming in a zig zag pattern. it's hard to keep straight in open water.
after the swim, we transitioned to the bike. as i pull out my huffy from the back of the truck, the other guys are pulling out $1200-$3000 bikes. that was embarrassing. and then, my front brake cable had come undone so i had to get one of them to fix it. but, at least i was out there and trying. the bike ride consisted of going up and over a fixed span bridge...twice. that was a little tough. thought i was going backwards there for a little bit.
since i did the shorter distance, i got back to the cars first to transition into the run. as i started to run, my mind was telling my legs to move but oddly enough they didn't seem to want to listen. no idea why. after about the first 1/2 mile, they loosened up and realized it wasn't up for discussion. they were going to run no matter what. the run went to the south part of the island and then through a nature walk that is on the water in a wooded area. i was told just to stay on the trail and stay to my left. well i did. but all of a sudden i have this prickly feeling around my ankles and legs. i had ran through a patch of sand spurs. it was then that i noticed the trail that i thought i was on, was no longer there. odd. i turned around and went back to where the trail was obvious then went back north along the water. only to realize that land would shortly be ending. again, odd. so unless we were supposed to be swimming...again... i had missed something. i decided to just go back the way i came which ended up that was what i was supposed to do when i hit the sand spur patch. so needless to say, my run was a little longer.
out of all of this, guess what the best thing i discovered was... the best thing to drink for recovery when you finish is...CHOCOLATE MILK!!! i was ecstatic. but seriously, i am very proud of myself for not only trying but actually accomplishing something i have never done before. i basically just did a mini-triathlon this morning. i had to go to a bike shop afterwards because i did not have a helmet and that is something i need to wear so i looked at some proper road bikes. i don't need a fancy smanshy one like those guys had but my huffy ain't gonna cut it. needless to say it was a little embarrassing.
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