Tomorrow’s the day.  My first triathlon.  I’ve done a decent amount of training.  I’ve figured out what to wear.  I’ve planned my transitions.  And I’m really nervous.  Since it’s a race involving not one but three sports, perhaps I’m justified in being three times as worried.

I went to the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Expo this afternoon.  There I got my race packet and goodies, picked up my t-shirt, and tested my chip. So far so good – all that is familiar from marathons and other running races.  It did feel a little strange wheeling my bike into the registration tent, however.  But what else was I to do with it?

My next stop was the transition area.  I decided it was a good idea to take advantage of the opportunity to drop off my bike a day in advance.   Just one less thing to worry about in the wee hours of the morning when I arrive for the race.  There was no need to hunt for a prime spot, it’s all pre-assigned by race number.  The area seemed ominously empty.  I hoped it wasn’t because others felt it was not such a good idea to abandon a critical piece of equipment overnight.  Once I found my spot, I discovered that my small bike didn’t exactly fit well onto the rack.  In fact, once I balanced my seat on the bar, the bike was swinging freely in the breeze.  It didn’t even come close to touching the ground.  Ugh.  For now, it’s firmly anchored by my bike lock.  We’ll see what happens tomorrow when I liberate it.

I made sure to attend the 2pm athletes’ meeting.  Being such a newbie, I needed all the information I could get.  The speaker was very knowledgeable and helpful, with loads of details about each segment of the race.  But honestly, the more I learned, the more I felt I had to worry about.  The bike piece especially – he pointed out all the sharp turns, bad pavement, intersections and two-way traffic sections.  All potential problem areas.  Good to know, but worrisome.  I did find the cycling etiquette rules to be reassuring, however.  I like the bit about keeping 3 bike lengths between bikes, and the process for passing.  I just hope the other cyclists are equally well versed in these fine points.  Somehow it seems like a long shot…

Normally I might have lingered at the Expo to take in some of the booths.  There were plenty of specialty companies catering to this audience of tri-athletes.  But the afternoon was waning and it was time to head home.  I did take a look at the lake where they were busy setting up the buoys for the swim, but it was my head that was swimming by that point.

I thought I my mind would be more at ease by now. Coming home and sorting through my gear, packing my transition bag and laying out tomorrow’s clothes helped.  And I’ve had my fill of pre-race spaghetti dinner.  All that remains now is to get a reasonable night’s sleep and show up for the race tomorrow.  Then it will be time to leave all these tribulations behind and just do it!

It’s just over two weeks until my first triathlon.  I am such a novice at this, and I am making up my own training plan as I go.  If you can even call it a plan.  But I kind of like it that way.  I’m not out to break any records, I just want to feel good in each leg of the race, stay safe and finish.

So far my training has consisted of making sure I get in ample amounts of swimming, cycling and running.  One at a time.  I have no problem over-achieving on the distances for each sport.  But this is a 3-sport race.  That’s a whole lot different.

So now I’m into doing doubles.  Apparently in triathlon lingo this is called a “brick.”  The logic of that name escapes me.  I’ve been cycling to the swimming pool, doing my laps then taking a long bike ride.  Granted, there’s quite a gap while I navigate the locker room, get back to my locked bike in the parking ramp and head out again.  But at least there is some semblance of a 2-sport combo.  Doing a bike/run sequence is better.  My changeover in the garage is more race-like, but I’m not very speedy.  Even so, I get the idea.  Legs really don’t want to stride after circular pedaling.  They wobble perceptively and I feel like I’m going nowhere.  But miraculously, things seem to straighten out after the first 1/2 mile.  Once the runner in me takes over, I don’t even feel the bike ride.  I think I may be making some progress.

That still leaves the open swim factor.  All my swimming miles have been in a pool, and I know the smooth water, designated lane with a line on the bottom and stealing a rest at the turns are a far cry from swimming in a lake.  That has me worried.  I’m hoping to remedy that next week, swimming in our lake at the cabin.  If I can stand the cold water, that is.  This darn cold summer just isn’t helping matters.

Having gotten this close to the race, I decided it was time to figure out just how one does a triathlon.  There is a plethora of material on the internet on the subject, and my head is already spinning from all the advice.  The lists of things to bring and the tips for transitions are enough to scare me away.  Until I remember my goal – feel good, stay safe and finish.  My transitions may be inefficient, but all that matters is that I get from one sport to the next.  Right?This really is a whole lot more complicated than running a marathon.  Maybe next I’ll have to move things up a notch, and try a triple.

I’ve been asking myself that question for several years now.   Having added cycling to my arsenal of sports activities, which already included swimming and running, I just couldn’t ignore the idea that I should do a triathlon.

Most people fear the swimming portion the most.  But in my case, that was my first entry into distance sports.  It goes way back to the days of a country club swimming pool, being a little squirt on the swim team, and spending years doing laps to get my 100 mile trophy.  When I put on the Freshman 10 (or so) in college, I turned to swimming to slim down again.  And I’ve kept it up ever since.  So in theory, I have that bit licked, as I regularly swim 1 3/4 miles for my workout.  But those are laps in the pool.  A whole lot different from open water swimming in a lake surrounded by a lot of flailing arms and legs.  Hmmm.

On to running.  I took that up when the kids were little and I could squeeze in a run on my lunch hour without giving up family time.  Naturally 10Ks quickly led to a half-marathon, and on to marathons.  Running has become my primary sport.  So I’m not at all worried about that.

That leaves cycling.  Since taking up cycle touring a couple of years ago, I have logged many a mile on my bike.  And on our trips I tote 26 pounds or more of gear for days (sometimes months) on end.  Yeah, I can manage the distance on a bike.

The components are all there.  I just haven’t taken the plunge to put them all together.  Yet.

That’s all about to change.  I might have procrastinated forever, but my son, Erik, called my bluff when he gave me the “entry to the triathlon of my choice” for Mothers’ Day.  So come July 12, I will be out there swimming-biking-running at the Lifetime Tri in Minneapolis.  Wish me luck. I’m going to Tri my best.