I got a taste of triathlon today. I did a mock event with the same distances as next week’s sprint tri. I am glad I did this. It helped me prepare and gave me an idea of what to expect. Let me put it this way, I understand why only a small percentage of the population attempt this multi-sport challenge. It’s not easy…
pre-race transition set up
I survived the swim (that’s the goal, right?), transitioned into my bike gear (spent too much time doing that, by the way), then hopped on Ruby and off I went.
Since I had my fuel plan in my head, I knew I needed a boost early in the bike ride. As I pedaled, I fueled on the “rolling buffet,” as one friend calls it.
After fueling, I picked up my pace, dropped down in the aero bars, and pedaled harder. Physically, I felt okay. I was a little fatigued, but I worked through it. The bike is definitely my strongest sport of the three.
I fueled some more about half way through and tried to mentally prepare for the upcoming run. I will not lie, that was tough. Doubt crept in and I wondered if I could even do it.
Fast forward to transition #2 (thankfully, much quicker than #1). The run. Since this is my blog and it’s all about trying new things, I have to be brutally honest … it started off dreadful. My legs felt heavy, very heavy. More doubt crept through my mind. Again, being honest, my thoughts were something like, “Ally, what are YOU doing? Why do you think YOU can be a triathlete? YOU should quit now.”
Well, I’m here to tell about it, so obviously, I finished. For the record, Ally is NOT a quitter. I pushed until the end, and I’m so glad I did. It was a proud moment.
This exercise was good for me because it gave me an idea of what could happen next Sunday. And, quite frankly, I learned that so much of this challenge is mental. I’m glad I got that out of the way because … NO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE ALLOWED! Do you hear me? None. Zilch. Nada.
For the next seven days, I’ll be filling my head with POSITIVE thoughts only. If a negative thought enters my mind, I’ll squelch it.
Friends, I could use your help by holding me accountable to this. And, I won’t mind if you send some positive thoughts and encouragement my way, too. 🙂
One week and counting…I am excitedly giddy! 🙂
See Ally Tri 