On September 23rd 2007 I participated and finished the Walt Disney World Triathlon in a not record breaking time of 4:23 minutes. The biggest hurdle that day was to overcome cramps and some really steamy temperatures. While it was the hardest thing I ever had to do physically, I don't regret a single minute of it.
Before I get to the triathlon details I want to thank all the people that sponsored me as a Team in Training participant. I am truly overwhelmed by the generosity of the people in my personal and professional network and I am grateful for your support. With your help (and some from my employer) we donated 6500.00 to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fight blood cancers. Meeting with survivors of these diseases the night before the tri was enough to remind me that whatever I faced in the race was absolutely nothing to what people with these diseases go through. It honestly kept me going on a miserably hot day. I actually used the thought "This beats Chemotherapy" many times, when I wanted to quit. Also, I was participating with a group of over 300 L&LS participants, the event raised 1.1 millon dollars which was truly inspiring.
Now onto some of the nitty gritty for anyone who ever wants to "tri" this. I am hooked and will do some more tri's next year.
The "Geez, I wish I did this better" thoughts.
I wish I actually watched what I ate. Someone had told me, have a blast, you are working out burning calories so you can eat almost anything you want. REALITY: I did eat almost anything I wanted, but, I'm 39 years old and my body will not willfully allow me to lose weight eating the things that I ate during my training period. So, I'm going to start a serious diet on Monday. I didn't gain weight, but I certainly didn't drop thirty pounds either. Life sucks when you like to eat and you're body does what you don't want it to do with that food.
I wish I can learn to take a punch. In the swim I actually did worse than I expected, mainly because I didn't want to get kicked in the face. I took a cautious (read slowwwww) approach to the swim and wished that I had a little more guts to get into the fray. I think I could have cut out about 5 to 8 minutes off my time. I realize I will never be a fast swimmer, but I don't need to be as slow as a leaf meandering down a stream. I will take a chance the next time.
I wish I got myself truly "fitted" for my bike. While I improved on my form I probably could have used some more tuning by a real professional bike fitter. 36 miles of continuous riding and you start to notice that your seat isn't ideally placed, and that your legs could use an inch or more extension. A proper fitting could have cut out the massive cramping that I had around mile 23-25. That cost me about 10 minutes as I had to stop and walk off the charley horses ripping me from calf to 'ahem' crotch.
By the way, I met God on that road, and asked him why he/she was making my leg straighten like a 2x4 with horrific cramps that I never experienced in my life. Sadly, God did not respond with any encouragement, so I let the pain subside and continued on.
I wish I did more torturous hot weather running! Dammit. Now the focus of this event was to raise funds, have a good time, and enjoy the moments created. All that was accomplished, but heck, I wanted to break four hours at least! The run was probably the hardest thing I had to go through, even worse than the bike. (The bike generates a breeze after all)
The run was situated on a mix of shade and sunny paths that were 90-95 degrees with a relative humidity of oh 90 percent or so. It was brutal. I love running and can usually do a six mile run in 49-55 minutes. When I finally got over the golf ball sized cramps above both knees and one calf, and could run continuously, the heat just drove me back down to a walk. So the final leg was a run-walk-run-walk-run that took me 77 minutes. What was I thinking, this is Florida!! It's HOT! Next time I won't avoid training outside during a typical NY summer day.
I should have ordered a larger (much) size. These outfits are tight. Really tight. 10 pounds in a five pound bag tight. Enough said.
Sounds ugly right? Well, yes, When it was over, I wanted nothing more than to find the nearest industrial strength 10 gallon water bucket and do a swan dive into it. But there is an upside.
Why I will do this again.
Triathlons are a lot more interesting than plain old working out. You are doing something different almost everytime you train. If you hate the gym, give triathlon workouts a try. You won't be bored, because it changes. Swim one day, run the next, through some weights in, and follow up with a bike around town. And don't do what I did, throw a sensible diet into the mix and it's a sure fire bet to get into great shape.
The comraderie with your fellow particpants is fantastic. Face it, this is a competitive sport, but it's mainly a sport where you are competing against your own limits. The people you compete with are supportive and most likely will give you advice if you ask for it. In fact, I don't recall any "trash talking" throughout the entire event. At the start of the swim, there were call outs from all of the other people in my 'wave' of "good luck" "enjoy the day" and "let's have fun". Granted, you are getting these kind words from guys in tight lycra and rubber suits, but there's nothing wrong with that!
Doing it for a charity will allow you a good deed every year. While as a consultant, I didn't participate in these events because it took time away from what I thought I needed to do (work) and as a consultant, you don't ask your clients to kick in a few for a good cause.
As an employee, well, I'm still working, but I have a great employer that will do matching of funds that I collected. It's one of those perks of larger companies that not many people take advantage of. I will do this again, and feel good about doing it. I have to say that philanthropy has bitten me also, and I would like to be involved in more events like this as volunteer and participant.
All in all, this was an event that I will never forget for the above reasons and because my family was there to see me through it. Which leads me to thanking my wife Brenda and my in laws Tom and Geri in coming down with me. I also want to thank my wife for putting up with these crazy workout schedules that I was trying to fit in with work and school. I promise I will get up early in the morning from now on to get my workouts in. She's a saint and puts up with too much of my behavior quirks. Plus both my sons were there, and while there was the event, we were in Disney after all. Seeing my children as happy as I have ever seen them while meeting the Disney characters was worth every cramp that I felt on that day. We took this picture after our day at Disney was done. The boys let every scheduled nap slide and had a blast. The just caught up at the end.
Thanks again everyone.
