I am so proud of da girl .Tracey and I met online whilst doing a totally unrelated to sport program called the 30 Day Challenge which is a great no cost highly informative internet marketing course.
When she is not looking after her family she is occupied with her canine connections and their health running a great site at http://www.exercisemydog.com/
With the Olympics out of the way, us mere mortals can look at resuming an existence away from the idiot box.
Many thanks to Tracey for sending me this report as it is a theme that I like to promote here.
You do not have to be a super star ( not saying Tracey isn’t 
to get out and get involved there are many people with all types of reasons why they can do it, hey just be sensible get good advice and step up to the start line
I was more active when I was younger, but with marriage, kids, job, etc., I hadn’t made activity a priority in years. But I wanted to be more physically fit, not just to lose weight (I had gotten to 200 lb) but to be able to keep up with school-age children and just feel good. Doing a triathlon had always been one of the things on my “list”. It was time to get going.
Big Girls Tri
I started training last June. And I was slow. Let me rephrase: S-L-O-W: a slow swimmer, a slow runner, a slow bicyclist. OK time to evaluate–let me make my goal to just finish the whole triathlon–at any speed. I decided to concentrate on 2 things: good technique and more endurance. It took a while but I got into a good rhythm of training 5 to 6 days a week (swim 2x, run 3x, bike 1x, strength 2x). I read books, participated on websites, and solicited coaching from high school coaches and YMCA instructors.
By the time summer rolled around, I could really see improvement in my speed and stamina. Not great jumps, but definite improvement. So I register for a tri that occurs the day before my 40th birthday in August and am determined to be ready.
Race Day
First challenge: getting the family up to leave at 4:30am to drive 2 hours to the race site. Strategy: have the kids go to bed in their clothes, pack a picnic breakfast. Strategy is successful.
We get to the race site and I check in. I had to register in the “Athena” category–women over 165 lb. Yea, thanks–please call attention to weightiness. Whatever. This just lets me know, there are more than a few of us big girls who are starting out and we all start somewhere.
I set up my transition spot and concentrate on not getting nervous. Strategy: do not compare self with the more muscled bodies, the fancier bikes, the expensive wet suits. Strategy is dubious. I catch myself thinking about scouring eBay tonight for a better bike.
Finally after pacing and chatting with family, my wave, all Sprint females, starts. Amazingly I am not nervous at all.
Strategy:
do at least 1 open water swim. I did 4 and I totally know what to expect and how to deal with it. And I start in the back, so I don’t get kicked. The swim it’s still a bit of work for me. By the time I get to the 1st buoy I’m thinking, boy this took a long time, please don’t let me get embarrassed by getting towed to shore. Strategy: keep stroking and stop sighting so often, go 10 strokes. Before I know it I’m close to the beach.
Out of the water and into transition. Strategy–take my time in the trans area and have a gel bar (as advised by one of my coaches). I didn’t like that strategy–I’m already slow. I got the bike down and started going.
The bike ride was killer–there were several, like a million, rolling hills. Was this someone’s idea of funny? Note to self: train on hills, duh. At the top of each hill, I have slowed to a crawl. But I’m determined not to get off, ever. And someone is always cheering me on–as they pass me. I chomp an energy bar and keep going pedaling.
The Slow and The Furious
By the time I get back to transition and dismount, I feel my thigh muscles twitching and think “I absolutely, positively do NOT want to run”. Strategy: think about how many people I told I was going to do this and how I am going to feel if I have to say I didn’t finish. I change into running shoes (taking way too long), swig some water and run out the chute.
OK ‘run’ might be an exaggeration. Shuffle was more like it. It takes me nearly a mile before I can feel my muscles transition from pedaling hills to running, but then I actually feel a mini-surge of power and can actually pick up my feet. Note to self: my first serious triathlon investment, high-quality sport bra, is so worth it for the robust woman.
Just as with bike ride, several people–who are on the return leg of the run–cheer me on as they pass. And so do several people who are passing me in my direction. Do I let the 60 year old running past me dishearten me? Yes! But I keep running and think maybe if I keep this up, maybe I too can run at a brisk pace by the time I hit 60. To be completely forthright, I did take 2 walking breaks which I kept to 60 seconds. Not good for my time, but wonders for my energy and mental state.
Of course, as you start nearing the finish line, there is no stopping. Too many people can see you, but who are cheering you on, even for the back-of-the-packers like me. Finally I cross, thrilled that I actually did this thing! Thrilled that I can finally stop now! Not thrilled, but grateful that my super supportive husband makes me continue to walk and does not let me sit down. This was quite an accomplishment–but I think I have it out of my system now, thank you very much.
I write this the morning after and I don’t feel too bad at all. I spent the remainder of yesterday alternately eating and napping. My shoulders are a little stiff, but I feel good. It was a good experience and I fulfilled my goal. I rock!
Then I check my times on the Website. Yea, I am slow, with a capital S. I finished in 2 h 05 m (8 minutes transition-abysmal). I am 190th of 192 people. And 191 and 192 didn’t finish the race! On the other hand, all my individual times were faster than at least a couple of other people. OK, I know–not the point. The point was to finish and I did and am so proud and my family and friends are too. And I lost 15 pounds since last year and 1 dress size and I feel great. So I am an all-around winner.
Triathlon training
But I really think I could get my swim time down with more work on my stroke. And I can certainly shorten my transition time a lot. I wonder if there’s another tri in my area, maybe in about a month….
PS: I put my husband in charge of pictures–I had enough other stuff to think about. He picked up a camera he hadn’t really worked with. Long story short: I have NO pictures of my big day except one my daughter took with my phone. I am DISTRAUGHT. If he weren’t so VERY supportive and so very sorry, he would have been sleeping on the couch for a long time. Note to self: test the camera along with all the other equipment
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Tracey, Really proud of your for your accomplishment, you look amazing!