Triathlon

When I was in AmeriCorps I had a roommate named Jennifer. I remember being impressed when I met her because she had recently participated in a triathlon. It thought it must be fun to do one, but never felt I was in a place physically where I could do one. That was 15 years ago. On the 4th of July my friend Dhriti introduced me to her friend Christina. Christina casually mentioned that she was training for a triathlon in Denton. That tiny seed grew into a curiosity and I looked it up online a couple of weeks later. I found the Monster Triathlon and saw it was late October. So I mulled it over for a while. Then in late July just chatting before yoga class the instructor Emily mentioned she wanted to run a triathlon. So I told her about the one in Denton. She got super excited. Up to that point I had not really decided to do it, but her enthusiasm was contagious. I signed up the next day.

The next step was to figure out some sort of training plan. My friend and adopted coach Dhriti emailed a plan she found online. It required six days a week of training and many of those were a swim followed by a bike ride. Now, I know that I was going to have to do this for the race, but I did not want to repeatedly do it week after week. So when my friend Tammi sent me a training plan- http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/10wtp.pdf that had a little of everything, but fewer swim to bike days and had two days off early and late in the training, I jumped on it. This really worked for me as I simply refused to cut back on my yoga classes. After all, I credit my consistent yoga practice with helping me build enough strength, stamina, and confidence in myself physically to even try this in the first place.

I started consulting my friends who had participated in triathlons before. First up was Tina. She had lots of advice. Practice the transitions, get the right gear (triathlon shorts, road bike, and good shoes.) Then Dena who made me a little nervous when she told me about her race experience. She mentioned people getting disqualified. The thought had never occurred to me. She said people got disqualified for holding on to the rope during the swim. I decided to learn as much as I could to make sure that didn't happen to me.

The next 11 weeks would find me swimming, biking and running my butt off (almost literally). I did a lot of studying as well. YouTube videos of triathlons, learning how to properly peddle and ride uphill, and helping to decide if I needed to get a road bike. The library was a resource for books on bike maintenance and swim technique dvd's. My friends were a great resource as well. Coach Dhriti kept me honest about my eating habits and would remind me to wear my helmet while biking. She also went on a scouting expedition with me to check out the race route and to test the pool. I didn't want the first time I used the pool to be the day of the race. I was immediately intimidated by the hills I would encounter on the bike ride. I counted them--7 giant hills, which actually were 14 if you consider it was going to the turnaround and back. There is a lot of equipment needed for these races. After seeing those hills I knew I needed a road bike so I bought one from Craigslist. I got goggles for swimming. Triathlon shorts (truly a great investment). No tie shoe laces (cause who wants to tie their shoes in the middle of a race?) . This triathlon stuff is an INVESTMENT. Anyone thinking of doing a triathlon should consider that there is quite a cost involved with all the stuff.

I also started studying on nutrition. I knew that I would need to eat more, but keep it smart. Carbs for energy to do the training and protein to help with muscle recovery and lots of fruits and veggies. Another heads up for those hoping to do a race like this- training for triathlons takes a LOT of time. Time to train, time to plan/buy/prepare/eat, time studying up on everything. It was as much of a time investment as it was a financial or physical one.
RACE MORNING My friend/pseudo-mom Kelly suggested I write my pre-race thoughts, so here I am 6 am day before the race. I am in bed thinking about the transitions and how to place my race number on my bike. Also, how do you pass someone while swimming? Not that I anticipate passing anyone but you never know. My family should be on the road headed this way from Oklahoma any minute. I am excited to see them and my house is pretty clean. I do need to run to the store to pick up a few things like deodorant so I am not offensive to anyone later today. I also want to hit a yoga class to help with staying loose for the race tomorrow. It's a beginner’s class, so I should be fine. Usually I would stay for both the 9 and the 10:15, but I absolutely don't want to push it too hard. I am beyond excited. I have spent a lot of time preparing for this adventure. I have logged a lot of time thinking, running, biking (especially biking) swimming and studying for this. I have all my gear, all my plans, and my own cheering section. Good friends and family who are coming to support me and many more supporting from distant sidelines. I spend a little time watching YouTube videos on transitions and stuff. Mostly reassuring as the things they show are things I have prepped for already. I need a lot of reassurance. I don't like being dropped in a situation and having no clue what is going on. A quick check of the weather says it will be 70 with a 10% chance of rain and windy tomorrow at race start time. No big deal. Since I am mentally prepared for rain if it happens and I have experienced quite a bit of wind during training. Gonna get up and eat breakfast. Singing and dancing in my car on the way to yoga. Just getting excited. Still running through things in my head, but letting go of things that are not important.

My friend/coach Dhriti gives me a gift before yoga class. The note reads as follows: Dear Lisa,
In preparation for your race, we wanted to ensure that you had all the elements on your side.
*a flower- Earth- because you're going to rock those hills
*headbands-Wind- to keep the hair out if your way
*Coconut Water- Water- isotonic to blood to keep you hydrated
*Hot Chocolate- fire- waiting to soothe you when you get home
We know you will be a rock star. And after the race, it will be one more milestone reached in October. Much love, Dhriti and Matt

Wanna feel awesome? Shaving before a race. Like you've heard all your life about swimmers doing to reduce drag. I am pretty sure my race performance will not really improve in the least, but at least I won't feel like a yeti. Picked up a rented bike rack from Richardson Bike Mart. I then accidentally dropped it (the trunk)on my head when I forgot it was there while cleaning out my car.


i texted Emily to see If she is ready for race and was pleasantly surprised when she called to talk about preparations and plans. She sounded somewhat nervous but mostly excited. She had made arrangements to pick up her packet in the morning. That would make me exceedingly nervous. I shared with her how I planned to layout everything. She told me she bought an iPod nano so she could listen to music. I told her I was going to do without. We shall see how that works out. She had also gone to check out the race venue and route. The hills intimidated her too a little I think. The morning of the race I got up before the alarm and all I could think about was whether I forgot to bring anything. My family came to town just to cheer me on for the race.

It was wonderful to have four generations of Tatums on my side. My mother made everyone Team Tatum t-shirts. My sister helped me get everything set up the morning of the race. My grandmother was part of my inspiration (cause she is absolutely awesome). I was so glad my niece was there as I always try to set a good example for her. Just to have them surround me before the race and to get caught up in their excitement made me feel like I had won before I had even started.

THE RACE I jumped out of bed and ate my breakfast. I knew I would need fuel for the race, so I had oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. Incidentally the breakfast I had eaten throughout my training. It seemed to take everyone a long time to get ready. I think I was just eager to get on the road and get to the race site. My mother drove, which was incredibly nice, but I got pretty frustrated when she missed the turn to get on the highway. My sister was INCREDIBLY reassuring at this time. It was 5:30 in the morning and the stars were still out. That was something that surprised me. I hadn't considered having to get started in the dark. We drove to Denton and I was trying to direct my mother as best I could. Then we started seeing cars with bikes attached to them. I said "my people" and told mom to follow them. We all chuckled. I remember getting caught at a red light and watching the cars with bikes pulling away. I said "this is going to be my view on the race, all those bikes leaving me in the dust". My sister chastised me and said that I was there to do the best I could and to quit being negative. She was right. (she will also love that I put that sentence in here).

Once we got there, we indeed had to set up in the dark. My sister carried my bags while I pushed my bike and we went to where they were putting the markings on people. My number 337 was written on both arms, and my left leg. On my right calf they wrote my age. I was a little surprised by this. Did I want my age on display for all to see? Not really. But it's a small price to pay. Plus, throughout the race I noticed people's numbers. When someone with a lower number passed me, I thought well at least they are younger. When someone with a higher number passed me, I was like "you go Mr. 64 and kicking my butt". My sister, being the awesome twin she is asked the marking people if they would put my number on her arm as well. I was very proud of that moment. My sister was not allowed into the transition area where I needed to set up my bike and stuff, so she waited outside the fence while I laid out my towel and my stuff. Emily was nearby and had already set up by the time I got there. She was excited and that certainly rubbed off on me.

All of our bikes were set up by race number. My neighbor, Mr. 332 was a first time triathlete as well. He looked pretty nervous, but seemed to have studied up on things and his transition area was very neat. Soon after I set things up we needed to see if there were some parking arrangements for my mother and grandmother. I had my sister speak to the police officers to see if handicapped parking could be available for spectators (she's a deputy with Tulsa County Sheriff's department and speaks cop fluently). She was able to get them a great parking spot very close to the natatorium. We also noticed that there were bleachers set up near the finish line, so they would know where to go. I was also very pleased that the natatorium had an elevator to the viewing area over the pool. I had been nervous that my family would travel 10 hours and not be able to see much. Coach Dhriti, my friend Rachel and my friend Kristin also came to watch. Just some awesome support all around. I am very fortunate. The swim portion of the race started with a lot of waiting. Everyone was to line up according to race number. Since I was in the 300's it was going to be a while of waiting. Emily and I got into line and ran into Christina (who really was responsible for all of us signing up for this race). The three of us waited in line and talked about how we all trained and watched people in the pool. Mr. 332 was there too and some other folks around us joined in the conversation. The one thing I will note about the swim is that I had no idea how it worked when I got there. I knew we were going to swim 250 yards, but were we swimming laps with other people in the lane? It wasn't until I was the first swimmer went that I realized you swim to the end of the pool and when you turn to go back, you simply dive under the lane divider and go back and forth in a zig-zag pattern until you have done your 10 lengths of the pool. In all the studying I did and all of the videos I watched and all of the people I spoke to, this was the one thing that was a mystery. They let people get into the pool (feet first required) and space people out at intervals. However, some people must have represented their swimming abilities differently as some were faster than others who went at the same time. People would get jammed up at the end of lanes trying to turn. Some people stopped altogether along the wall. It was quite frustrating for me to try to swim around people. I wanted to touch the wall and turn, but there were people in the way all the time. I will say it felt good to pass people. I was passed by my dear friend Emily which only bugged me slightly. I give credit to the swim cap she was wearing. :)

After the swim, they take your picture right as you get out of the pool. This strikes me as particularly cruel and unusual punishment. You are kind of vulnerable. Just having battled your way through swimmers and lanes and then jump out of the pool to hit the transition area. I was ready for the transition (total transition time 2 minutes 47 seconds). Put on my shirt with my number (modesty requirements for me alone) then socks and shoes. Helmet, sunglasses and then hit the road for the 16 mile bike. At first it was kind of nice. Flat road through idyllic farmlands. The sun was just rising and it was a truly beautiful morning. See the cows and the horses and the Canadian geese. Oh wait, those are fake geese. Then you start hitting the hills. 7 hills heading to Argyle Middle School and 7 hills heading back- 14 total. I lost count almost immediately. They were tough and I kept passing people on the straightaways, only to have them pass me on the uphills. Emily passed me early on and I saw she was wearing an orange shirt. I decided to try to keep her in my view if I could. As I was nearing the turn around, she passed me going the other direction. It turns out I was tracking the wrong orange shirt. This made me laugh a little. I was had been focused on a complete stranger. You play funny games when you are on a long bike ride.

About 2 miles before the end the wind was brutally in my face. It felt like riding uphill, when it was in fact very flat. One thing that made me laugh towards the end was that there were ACTUALLY vultures circling overhead. I am not being dramatic. A pretty good sized group of them. I was determined they weren't going to claim me as road kill, so I pushed on. At the end my body was very unhappy with me. It never wanted to see a bicycle seat ever again. I was actually looking forward to the 3.1 mike (5K) run. The second transition consisted of putting up my bike and taking off my helmet (Transition 2 took 51 seconds).

My cheering section was there in force at the transition area. I got a couple of high fives as I exited to the run. That was such a great feeling. My people there for ME. I saw Emily finishing as I was leaving the run. I tried to get her attention, but she couldn't hear me. My legs were heavy as I started to settle into the run. The run route is beautifully flat. The only problem is you have to do 2 laps. This is not very comforting when you are on your first lap. You just want it to end.

I struggled a little on the run. Just wanted to walk or more precisely take a nap, but I made myself keep going. Later in my first lap I saw Emily once again. Apparently she had missed that it was two laps. So she had to go again around once again. Had that been me I would have been frustrated me to no end, but she was smiling and looked like she was having a blast. It wasn't until my 2nd lap on the run that I realized I had forgotten to pull one of my shoe laces tight. I ran the whole 5k with a loose shoe. I figured if I had run that long on it loose, it could stay that way. Plus I was trying to conserve energy at that point. So I rounded the last curve and the finish line was at the top of a hill (cruel) so I started pushing it. After all, I wanted to finish strong (total run time 44 minutes 31 seconds). I loved hearing my name announced as I crossed. My sister was just across the finish line and I gave her the biggest hug ever. I may or may not have cried a bit on her shoulder. Ok, I sobbed like a baby there for a few seconds. Then I hugged my niece and saw the rest of the crew. It was such a welcoming party. People asked me if I wanted to sit down or wanted something to eat or water. I just wanted to move slowly and took my shoes off. Lots of hugs and lots of congratulations. Quite the perfect way to end a race. Emily was there and we went over after a while to have the trainer people help us stretch. This is something I would have never done on my own. I was glad she led the way because the stretch was wonderful. I attribute it for not being as sore the next day. Don't get me wrong I was sore, but not as bad as I had been during some training days. So that is my tale. It was quite an adventure. The question I get asked most often is whether I will do one again. The answer is "absolutely". I now know that I am capable and I know where my weaknesses are. Plus I have to beat my time of 2 hours and 6 minutes. Until next time...