gearing up!

Spring has officially sprung and I too have sprung into action to try and get ready for this triathlon I decided to do back in the fall. I was all pumped up for the challenge until I decided to seriously start training so I wouldn’t have to medevaced from the premises on the big day. Let’s face it, I am NOT an athlete. Yes, I played t-ball as a child and I even did cheerleading in junior high, of course that was when simply demonstrating the ability to do a cartwheeI guaranteed you a spot on the squad, but somehow those things don’t make for a very impressive resume in the world of athletics. However, what I lack in athletic prowessness, I make up for in sheer determination. So, having decided that determination alone could carry me through I decided to hunker down and hit the pavement…and the water…and the pedals.
I haven’t been too worried about the swimming part as I have always been a good and fast swimmer, compared to most people anyway. I was on the swim team for years and have a whole album full of 3rd-7th place ribbons to prove that the water and I get along just fine. But just to be sure I jumped in the pool and although I was breathing like I had a collapsed lung I still did all 16 laps on the first attempt. The running portion doesn’t have me too worried either as I can walk if I have to and I can always remove my race number and act like a pedestrian in a hurry if my lack of progress becomes too humiliating. What does have me worried is the biking leg of this whole thing. I didn’t think that 12 miles was such a big deal until I got in the saddle. I thought, no big deal, I had a huffy with a banana seat and the ace of spaids in my spokes as a child and later upgraded to a 10 speed that I routinely rode between my neighbor’s house and my own, which had to be at least a quarter mile apart. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize that the car is hands down the greatest invention ever, whereas if you had asked before my attempt to pedal 12 miles I would have said electricity. So thank you, Mr. Benz, for inventing the automobile, you have saved many a woman from hurting in their special place.
I had to take several breaks along the way to guzzle water and to catch my breath and at one point had to dismount completely and push the bike up a “hill”. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was as I was doing 8 miles on the gym bike without having anything resembling a coronary. Halfway through I decided I must have the seat to low because there was no reason I should be considering calling in reinforcements on what I consider to be a relatively flat (at least from a car rider’s prospective) country road. So, I made the necessary adjustments and VOILA! I retrieved the towel that I had thrown in half a mile back and made it back to my AUTOmobile without having to stop once. I still have a lot of progress to make if I want to cross the finish line this June but I feel like I am on my way.
A more pressing concern, yes, more pressing than having a coronary, is what to wear for this event (just picture me biking and running in only a speedo brand bathing suit and sneakers and you’ll get what I mean) but this will have to wait to be addressed because I have to go ice my special parts.