Hi, I'm Sharon...and I'm a Tri Addict

Hi all,

I've been posting on the forum for a few weeks but thought I would officially introduce myself and say a few things about where I've been and where I plan to go.

I started training for my first marathon in 2004 and enjoyed a great running season. In 2005 a hip injury kept me out of running so I started to swim...scratch that...I started playing around in the water and kept bugging my husband to get me a bike. At the beginning of this year I started running again but started talking to my best friend about doing a triathlon. I read a TON, started doing research on bikes, a little research on the swim but figured I needed a bike first. I bought a bike in June 2006 and took it out for a spin...once. It was weird being on a road bike!! I put my new baby into the garage and just kept running.

In July, 2006, my best friend, Sandy, surprised me with a birthday present: Entry fee into the Hagg Lake Triathlon- Sprint Distance. Here's the best part...she gave me the "present" 8 days before the race. 8 FREAKIN' DAYS!!!

I'm not one to make excuses or back down from a challenge so I pulled out my shiny new bike and drove out to the course to give it a spin. The Hagg Lake course is all hills. Little hills, bigger hills, and cry-for-your-mama hills. And I've been on my bike ONCE. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to ride 12.5 miles. Sweet. Bike training done, onto the swim!!

I bought a thin cheap wetsuit and drove to Olallie Lake for a little open water training. Don't ask me why I didn't train at Hagg Lake... Anyway, after 10 minutes in the water I'm so tired that I don't think I can make it to shore. My husband insisted on coming along to watch because a.) he likes to be entertained and b.) he was sure I was going to drown and isn't ready to be a single dad of three kids. I manage to get back to the shore and I flop down and gasp, "How long do you think I swam?" David (my husband) smiles and says, "Maybe 1/4 mile?" Perfect, that's 1/2 of what I need to do. I'll be fine on race day...adrenaline and all. Swim training done!

The run is a 5K. Piece of cake! I'm a runner! I do 5K's for training runs...and those are the light days. Run training done!

I log onto a local forum and ask a few questions about what I need to know for my first Tri. I find out that:

1. You should bring a towel to lay your things out on.
2. Don't forget extra goggles in case your strap brakes. (No problem there...I just bought a pair...they're brand new!)
3. We don't get our own changing stalls and there is no nudity allowed in the transition area. (Um...what?)

Race day arrives and I'm SO excited. Sandy is right by my side. (Which will make it easy when I want to kill her later.) We get our transisition area set up and make our way down to the water. We have to swim how far?! The gun goes off and I take off like a bullet. And hit the wall about 3 minutes later. I couldn't/wouldn't put my head in the water and ended up doing the back stroke just to get me to shore. I was so tired when I came out of the water that there was no way I was running to T1. I manage to get on my bike and take off. It was so hard. I remember wanting to cry as I came up the big monsterous hill after an out and back and just thought...keep going and it will be over soon!! I was so happy to pull into T2. Finally, I can start running. Um...why can't I feel my legs? It was the longest 5K I've ever ran. It took a good 2 miles for me to be able to really feel my feet.

But man, did it feel good crossing that finish line!!! And I've been hooked ever since! Granted, I now have cycling coach and a swimming coach and I know that bricks are good for you!!

I can't imagine being "just a runner" now. I love multi-sport and I'm really looking forward to next season. I have 1 Sprint planned (I have to beat my PR at Hagg Lake you know!), 2 Oly's and a 1/2 IM. Training is going really well and I really appreciate all the feedback and great information on this site!!!

Sharon

PS. For the record, I do not condone nor encourage an 8 day training plan...I don't care what kind of runner you are!!