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"First Ride, First Race" - Teresa's Story
I recently participated in a Duathlon..my first race ever! 3 mile run/16 mile bike/2 mile run! So here's my Duathlon story!!! I woke up at 3:30-wide awake...decided to get up and go ahead and get ready..it's an hour and a half drive and I wasn't sure where I was going. I make a couple stops on the way there-to get water and for potty breaks-I think I over hydrated on Saturday! But the minute I turn down the final road I'm in a caravan of cars with professional looking bike racks and bikes on the back. My Schwinn -$149.00 special from Target is merely strapped in the back of my husband's pick up truck. Very unprofessional looking and a mountain bike at that. I didn't realize how big a deal that was until the bike race started. When I went to register at the Bike Shop I saw bikes that were $1,500.00 to $5,000.00, which I rolled my eyes at and poo-pooed! Then I purchased an outfit and gloves for the race that were about the same price as my bike.now I'm thinking.THIS IS AN INDUSTRY!!! Proper gloves, proper shorts, proper glasses, which I opted not to purchase, but I'm thinking this is outrageous and I only have the basics! So I arrived there looking like a duck in a desert. This place was already packed and it was only 6 a.m.! I have never seen such equipment in all my life. The bikes were aerodynamic, the helmets look like they were from outer space and there were several groups of people with matching jerseys, jogging in cadence. I look around and only maybe 5 other people have mountain bikes and even theirs look at the very least used. I have had ZERO road time on my bike. I tool around the neighborhood with the children and wave to the neighbors but as far as changing gears to accommodate the hills, well, it just hasn't happened. Riding a bike on the open road is completely different than riding a bike at the gym!
I'm in the third wave of people to go. I stay toward the back because let's face it, these people are professionals and this is my first race, I just want to finish not win. I run the first 3 miles in a little less than 24 minutes it was a bit hilly but I pass lots of people, even some men, I'm gaining confidence, that is until I get on the bike. You are supposed to keep to your right and then other bikers can pass you on the left. I'm doing what I think is a good pace until I start hearing."Passing on your left"."Passing on your left"..it's continual! I'm sure I'll hear it in my sleep tonight! I'm watching these men and women pass me like I'm sitting still. I watch their legs and they aren't working half as much as me, I'm peddling like a crazed woman and getting no where! The course went through a residential section and down a main road so there were cars to contend with. It eventually looped around to the starting point. That's when I realized I wasn't going so fast when the ones ahead of me passed me heading back to the start it was if they were traveling at supersonic speed. I'm surprised I didn't hear BOOMS where they were breaking the sound barrier! I'm talking 50 miles an hour fast..you couldn't even see their faces, it was a blur. And then you have me noticing the fields, the barns, OOH A YARD SALE!! When I was on my final leg back to the transition area to start the last 2 mile run-and I did pass a few people, okay, they were Senior Citizens, but now my legs felt like jelly. I managed to run the last 2 miles in 20 minutes and finished around 2 hours total! What I learned was this...never enter a race that includes a sport, biking, that you haven't practiced for...stationary bikes don't count! Psyche yourself up...I kept telling myself, "You've birthed 5 nine and ten pound babies in 7 year...YOU CAN DO THIS!" Have the proper equipment or prepare to work twice as hard! I know I will be much more prepared for my first half tri in June!
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