Saturday past I participated in another Triathlon, the Tupper Lake Tinman Sprint, consisting of 0.5 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike (HILLSHILLSHILLS!), and a 5k (3.2 mile) run (or, in my case, run/walk). This was my second time ‘racing’ in this event, and third overall triathlon. I am happy to say I finished, although my time was slower than the previous year (mostly due to walking more of the 5k than before). The weather was cooperative, albeit a bit windy which made the swim a little more difficult due to choppy waves, and a headwind was apparent in the bike portion as well. The difference is that knowing what was coming helped my nerves as opposed to the inaugural attempt, but the NOT knowing the first time around motivated me to prepare. Either way, I was happy to cross the finish line to cheers and congratulations from my family and the crowd.
Dan, my 28 year old son, participated as well in this his first triathlon. He prepped by running and in-gym biking, but no swimming. Also, he borrowed my husband’s bike which apparently had some gear and brake issues, unbeknownst to us prior to the race. Nevertheless, youthfulness persevered and Dan finished with a very good time and is inspired to try the next longer category of race, the Olympic level.
My sister-in-law Tina also participated in the bike and run portions. I am so proud of her for attempting the swim despite the temperature, wind and crowd. She amazes me for trying to overcome her swim fears by training at the community pool all year long in anticipation of this event. Also in my entourage was Lewis, our friend from Swampscott. He and I participated in last year’s event and now he is a committed triathlete despite blaming me for inviting him to race; he now owns a lovely new bike and is accumulating triathlon gear for more events, including the event in Salem as well as the MIT indoor triathlon we both ran in January.
I guess the purpose of this blog is to: A. Show off, but also to: B. Inspire others to try something like this, something out of the comfort zone. I saw plenty of others participating in this event; some athletes were just plain slow, or walked their bike up hills, or doggy paddled through the swim event or walked the 5k. The fastest sprint triathlete finished in about 1.25 hours (don’t quote me on that), and the slowest was 3.5 hours. Who cares? They are all athletes, as my former group personal trainer June would say. Everyone in this event from the organizers and volunteers to the spectators and athletes was supportive and the positive energy was palpable. There is no down side to attempting something a little out of the ordinary. And hey, you get a medal AND free beer when you finish! You can’t beat that!
My new reality 