Tri for Sight – Jessica King’s first Triathlon

Well here is my first triathlon race report, it’s on my Tumblr but I’ll just copy and paste to save you the clicks Thanks everybody!

Today, after three crazy long hours, I became a triathlete! The weeks leading up to this have been challenge enough for me. With getting a new job and other things that have come up (weddings out of town, etc.) I’ve had a hard time getting in all my training. Another thing that made me nervous this morning was for the last week I have been getting these dizzy spells. I really didn’t want one to happen during the tri because I would probably have to quit if it did. I was nervous the week leading up to today but I decided I would give it my best shot and see how I felt about everything. I was lucky enough to know the rules and have Nikki teach me about transition too.

This morning I woke up a little before 4:30 well rested for once! Usually the night before a race I never get good sleep but today was different. I ate an english muffin, egg, and a banana with milk and some gatorade. I went over my bag again and at 5:30 I headed to the transition area which was only 5 min from my apartment. I got marked up (thanks to Gary for pointing me in the right direction!) and set up my bike and my transition area. I don’t think I have it down to a perfect science but I think I set it up real well.

We headed to the pool and it was fun to see the fast people swim. I could tell it would be crowded but I wasn’t nervous. I knew I could swim the distance and I felt confident. That all changed once I got in the water. I was one of the last people in, which was probably a good thing. I just couldn’t get comfortable in the water and I couldn’t keep my head down. I felt like every time I turned my head I was just taking in water instead of air. So I swam most of it with my head above water. I tried to rest on the pool edges but there were too many people with that idea already. I knew I had the fitness to just keep going so keep going I did. I was frustrated because I knew this wasn’t ideal. I don’t know why I got scared, or even if I got scared. To be honest I’m very confused by it.

I got out of the water dizzy (and therefore worried) and a little nauseous. I walked most of the way to the transition area but got a little jog in. I thought I put on my clothes quickly. It was nice to see my dad and I think I heard Gary cheer for me too. I headed out on the bike still feeling pretty crappy but I decided I would see how I felt a couple miles in. I started to feel better but instead of focusing on my bike ride I kept thinking back to the swim and how much of a disaster it was. I knew that wasn’t the right attitude so I just decided to take things easy and enjoy the ride. Nikki and I talked the night before the race and I decided I wouldn’t wear a watch and just treat the race as “a really long training day.” I ended up having a good time for me on the bike (1:30) and enjoyed the ride. None of the hills bothered me very much. The sorority girls were really great.

I got back to transition without hitting any cars or getting any flats I was actually concerned about both of those things the night before the race. I had a quick transition and started out running. I have no idea what my pace was at certain points but I felt like I started out pretty strong. I wasn’t able to run as long as I usually do, but I knew that going into the day. That’s the main reason I didn’t wear a watch, I didn’t want to think about how fast I could run compared to how fast (or slow depending on how you look at it) I was running. That would frustrate me. I started counting to sixty and doing one minute walk/run. It let me rest often and kept me motivated to keep moving. Throughout the run and the bike I didn’t pass many people but that was OK. I heard Lauren cheer for me near the stadium. Around the 2 mile mark I realized I was actually going to finish and I finally calmed down from the swim and finally felt confident. Too bad it took me that long to get settled.

When I finished I saw a lot of people that cheered for me and even some that knew my name that I didn’t know! Gary and Nikki were there, and they were concerned about my swim but as Nikki pointed out, “You just did a triathlon!” It’s a very accomplished feeling. I feel more proud of this than my half-marathon, because there were so many more things to learn and so many things that had to work out in order for this to happen.

Even though I am moving to Pennsylvania soon I’d like to keep doing at least one race in Kentucky each year because I think the people here are so great and the races are really put together well.

I enjoyed my first triathlon. I really enjoyed all the training that went into it. I don’t know how people train to do longer events. This was time consuming and happened at a crazy time in my life but I’m so proud of what I have done. I finished with a lot of questions. I have a lot of work to do if I want to get better at racing. I don’t have a plan for when I will do my next one, but I do plan to keep working on the swimming and cycling in the meantime.

Thanks to everyone who helped me and gave me advice, especially to Nikki for motivating me and dealing with all my nervousness. I’m just glad I’m finally a triathlete and in the cool club now.