I did it!

Transition area before the start.

Among the changes in my life over the last 2.5 years, has been a renewed interest in physical activity and a 50 pound weight loss. As a resident and fellow working too many hours and not sleeping enough, regular exercise was not a priority in my life. Slowly the weight piled on and my fitness levels decreased until I found myself shopping in the plus size section and feeling a sense of accomplishment if I exercised once a week. Oh, how things have changed!

Last weekend I completed my first Olympic-distance triathlon in Port Dickson, Malaysia. After swimming 1.5 km in the Straits of Malacca, I biked 40 km through rolling hills and then ran 10 km. Not only did I survive, but I had fun!

First up was the swim. Being my first open -water swim I was a little anxious about it and did have some difficulty sighting and staying on target while also negotiating around other swimmers. Due to a misunderstanding of Malaysian-English, I thought there were four waves of people starting before mine. Actually, there were only three and by the time I realized this, I was at the very back of the wave. Being a pretty decent swimmer, it would have been better for me to start further toward the front so I didn’t have to pass so many folks, but that is part of the learning process. The swimming conditions were excellent because although it was ocean water, the straits are pretty calm and it was more like swimming in a calm lake with buoyancy. I was kind of sad when I reached the end of the swim because I was really enjoying the open-water experience.

Next came the bike which I also quite enjoyed. It was nice to be able to ride at a brisk pace and not have to worry about motorcycles appearing from nowhere or weave around tuk-tuks. The course had some rolling hills which made for a nice ride. It was work to get up, but if you pedaled hard down the hills, you could get quite a way up the next one. I need to learn how to hydrate without losing so much speed and I was nervous to go out too hard because I knew there was still a 10 km run to follow but I averaged right around 30 km/h for the 40 km.

And then there was the run. I’ve never claimed to be a runner and until recently, 5km was the furthest I’d ever run. I find it less painful now than I did three months ago, but I’m still unsure about the whole running thing and was quite apprehensive about this portion. As I started off down the path out of the transition area, I heard a slosh-sloshing in my shoes. Since I didn’t yet have cycling shoes, I had worn my socks and running shoes on the bike portion. Unfortunately, the water from my clothes for the swim ran down my leg as I was biking and soaked my shoes and socks. Not having alternative footwear, I set off for a 10km run with wet shoes and socks. Not so great and not a feat I plan to repeat (I've since purchased cycling shoes). The race organizers had said the water stations would be set up every 1.2 km. So, when I saw the fourth station approaching, I figured I had traversed 4.8 km and the turn around was near. They must have put them closer together than that, because after that 4th station, there was still another km or so to the turnaround and it was a mentally difficult portion. Revived at the half-way point, I made it another 1-2 km before I really started to feel the pain in my feet as the blistes developed. It was hard to get through the next couple km but I was determined. I was so relieved to reach the top of a hill and see the finish line less than 2 km away and picked up speed for those last couple kilometers.

Despite 3 hours of continuous strenuous exercise, fatigued muscles and multiple blisters the size of quarters on both feet, I felt amazingly alive crossing the finish line. Not only did I finish, but I was in the top half of women in my age-group and of women overall. Not bad for a newbie. What a sense of accomplishment! I may not be a skinny-mini, but I am cardiovascularly fit and getting stronger all the time. It feels great!

Next up, another Olympic-distance triathlon in Hoi An, Vietnam in September.