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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Up a Hill Without a Bike?

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Last night it really hit me that today I would be doing a bigger triathlon than the one I did last month. I was most terrified by the giant hill that everyone warned me about...or more correctly the two hills. I had heard from everyone that there was a small scary hill followed by The Hill which was a full mile itself with every wheel turn getting steeper and steeper. Down hill from there is also supposed to be incredibly scary because it's so steep. In fact I was told that many triathletes can't make the sharp right at the bottom of the hill and end up "flying into the woods."

I reminded myself, that the hill didn't look as bad as everyone had said when I drove the route earlier this week, but then again most SUVs have more horsepower than is available to most triathletes during a race. (Yes, I could get more horsepower from one of the many farms on the route, but that would be illegal and would violate the triathlon rules.)

After a slight saga last night when I thought I had a flat tire on my bike, (a story for another day when my pride has fully returned), the Big Giraffe and I loaded my bike and the kids into the car and headed off to the event. Not only were the distances much longer, than my May triathlon, but the number of participants and the size of the goody bag were also much larger! Yes, you get a goody bag at these events; I know I was pretty excited about that too.

The boys and the Big Giraffe headed down to the beach while I setup my bike and equipment. I grabbed the swim cap they gave me (after someone fortunately told me I needed to bring the cap because it identified the heat that I would be in), put on my wet suit, and headed down to the beach while pleased that we weren't all starting off at the same time.

The swimming leg was so much fun! Swimming is my best sport, since I swam competitively through college. I loved my wetsuit, not only because it provided a barrier against the chilliness of the water, but because it was like having a small motor attached to me; it made the swimming so much easier. Plus, out of the 530 plus people participating, I only saw two people who didn't have wetsuits. Hey, if everyone else wants to look like a whale, why not join in? Really, when else would you get such a fabulous opportunity?

Next was the dreaded biking. Unlike my last triathlon, I actually managed to get all my biking equipment on including my biking shoes before heading out on the course. Every thing seemed fine. As it started getting hillier, I changed my gears to prepare for the first scary hill and the super scary hill. In the meantime, I went up one hill in a pack of about 10 bicyclists that was challenging but definitely doable. What makes it seem doable? The big test for me is always whether or not I feel like I'm going to hurl. Nothing fluttered in my belly. To make sure, I distracted myself by focusing on how funny everyone sounded breathing, myself included. There were moans, groans, and grunts. I must say that a couple people sounded like they were in the throws of well...passion... and let's leave it at that.

I finally made it to the top of the hill and went down the other side pretty fast. In fact at one point I looked at my odometer and I was going over 30 miles per hour. Then I saw the sharp turn needed to avoid the woods. Several volunteers were stationed there, jumping up and down and yelling "Turn turn turn!" I made it.

I continued on the bike in anticipation of the second hill. I was tired, but I knew I had one hill to go and I needed to focus. I try to rev myself up for the second the hill. And then to stay revved up for it. And continue to stay revved up for it. Where was it? I finally passed a volunteer who shouted, "Only one more mile left!" Wait a minute! The scary hill was supposed to be around mile 5, and I was on mile 11. But the scary hill was on mile 5? Yes, I had already gone over the scary hill and hadn't realized it.

How can I explain this? Well, I'm from the Midwest where it is flat. No, really flat. If you've never been to the Midwest, it's probably hard to picture. To me, if you put a container of water on the ground, and water moves to the side, the land is not flat! Very little in New England is truly flat. People at the race kept telling me that the whole course was flat except for these couple of hills. That just was not true! I even remember thinking that the whole course was hilly when I drove by it. I wasn't complaining. Most of the hills were relatively small and not problematic for biking. However small the hills may have been, they were there. Before you think I'm suggesting you mark your bike course practices with containers of water, let me explain my reasoning. I think that if you're aware that you're expending energy on all these little hills, you pace yourself better. Compared to the two big hills, most of the course is relatively but not completely flat. I still am not sure which hill was the first scary one though!

The run went well too. It was definitely more hilly than my last triathlon, but none of the running hills were scary. I particularly appreciated how triathlon volunteers sprayed us down with water from a hose about half way through the run.

All in all, it was a great success. I didn't need to stop at all on the route as I had feared I might have to do. I came in 2nd in the swimming leg for my category and 10th overall in my category.

Oh yeah, distances: Swimming .5 mile, biking 12.27 miles, and running 3.05 miles

A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Hilliness is relative.

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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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