Embarking on a Journey

I don't even know where to start.

I will find myself at the start line of the Morro Bay Olympic Triathlon in 18 days...

... at a start line for the longest race yet of my journey in becoming a Triathlete. Some already say I am a "Triathlete", but I believe there is an enormous amount of work yet to be put forth by myself to be a Triathlete. Therefore, I will start at the beginning of my journey.

I have been embarking on a journey of triathlete and have hit many mountains and obstacles along the way. My journey started approximately 2 years ago, when I was looking for something to improve my quality of health, wellness and overall fitness. I had reached an all-time low in my fitness and most of all my health and wellness.

Why not start back where my health/wellness/fitness was at its peak. Crossfit! So, I tried going back to Crossfit and could not find a box that had felt as perfect as my first box. But, going back to the first box wasn't out of the picture, it just was not realistic for myself anymore due to a multitude of reasons (distance, financial - they had increased their dues significantly, and class times). I was back where I started and felt there was no way in improving my health/wellness/fitness; until a close friend suggested I actually train for a Triathlon. Not sign just say I would start working out to do a triathlon some day; but actually sign up for a race and jump in. So that is what I did.

Tri for the Cure Denver. I signed up in May and had 3 months to train for a Sprint Tri. Completely attainable, not a long distance and specifically for women. I had done my research on the race and talked to many people who had competed in prior Tri for the Cure races. I always got the same picture from everyone. "It is a perfect first-time race", "There are no men and an immensely supportive group of women", "There will be all shapes and sizes, experience and no experience, support personnel in water in case you get uncomfortable, mountain bikes to triathlon specific bikes, walkers and runners", and "This is a perfect race to determine if you even like the sport of Triathlon".

With all the encouragement and positive feedback; I jumped into "training". That's right, my "training" consisted of me planning to work out 6 days/week. In all actuality, I was lucky to have "trained" 3 days/week. I was not completely committed to "training" and would find myself in the pool at my gym those 3 days. Why? Because, in all truthfulness, I hated running and had a bike with 2 flat tires and no idea how to change those flat tires. After about 3 weeks, my friend checked back in with me and asked how I was doing?

Well... I am swimming... that's good, right? We had a long conversation from there that I needed to write down a training plan, focus on doing equal workouts of each discipline and get a road bike. I grabbed a piece of paper at work and in between calls I scribbled down what I thought was a training plan. Swim one day, bike the next, and run the following; and repeat with a rest day. I proceeded to ask my co-workers, that were avid bicyclists, where I should buy a road bike. The conclusion was Wheat Ridge Cyclery.

Off I went to Wheat Ridge to find a perfect bike. The gentleman that helped me that day was really great working with the newbie cyclist. I knew practically nothing about bicycles; besides 2 wheels, gears, foot pedals, handlebar; and pedal to go forward, and brake to stop. Luckily, I was setup with beauty, Lexa and was off to a new cyclist future.

Next, was getting myself to run...

... let's just say I was not good about getting to the gym or outside to go running. Most of the time I found myself warming up with a brisk walk, running a couple of minutes and then feeling exhausted and my legs hurting. Therefore, my "running" turned into very long walks. My "training" continued on in just getting time in and building up my stamina. Middle of June and through July were my best weeks of "training". I was getting used to the routine of working out 6 days/week and getting some endurance stamina built up.

I had read and heard from others' that I needed to be practicing transitions. My practicing of transitions was essentially having my swimsuit on and running from my back door to my front door; put on my clothing for the bike, run my bike to the street and bicycle around the block back to my back door. Mind you, I was not wet from getting out of a pool or lake; I was perfectly dry in the nice warm summer sunshine. My 2nd transition consisted of going on a 15 minute bike ride, hopping of the bike and removing my helmet, and proceeding on to a 5 minute run. Let's just say that helped me learn to put clothes on quickly.

Next up was Race Day...