Bettina tries tri

I’m certainly not the first fit feminist to do a triathlon – just picking the “triathlon” category on previous posts yields over 60 results. And some of them are very badass! I’ve been wanting to do a tri for a while now. In fact, in 2019 my partner gave me two books on training for a triathlon for Christmas. What did I give him? I don’t remember his “real” present, but on top of that… a positive pregnancy test. Our son was born in August 2020, amidst a pandemic, and triathlons were really not on the cards for a bit. Life was just too busy! But then early this year, a friend convinced me to sign up for a sprint tri with her. 750m swimming, 22km cycling and 5k running seemed manageable.

To be honest, I didn’t train all that much. As a swimmer “by training”, the discipline many triathletes fear the most didn’t scare me. I had a bit of a wobble when I found out the swim would be in a river rather than a pool (many sprint triathlons do the swimming leg in a pool), but hey – no time like the present to rekindle my open-water swimming skills from those beach lifeguard days 20 years ago, right? I did manage to get a few lake swims in, but for example I never once managed a “proper” brick workout, where you bike first and then run right away.

I’m also… not the world’s best runner. I can get better, as I discovered on my journey to the half marathon that never was, but I need to train very consistently and frequently. I already go swimming at least once a week, usually twice, and commute a lot by bike. But squeezing those runs in on a busy work and family schedule was a real challenge. Also, during the winter months, we were sick a lot (thanks, daycare germs). So by the time the race snuck up on me, I was feeling under-prepared and quite intimidated by the logistics of it all. I was pretty sure I’d forget something in the transition and start cycling without my shoes on, or forget to put on my helmet, or fall flat on my face while trying to wiggle out of my wetsuit. I jest, but when you read the race instructions and watch videos, it does all seem like rather a lot.

The thing I was most scared of was wiping out during the run. “It’s only 5k!”, my training partner (who is quite a bit more athletic than me) encouraged me. But 5k, for me, after 20k of cycling fast and hard, seemed terrifying. My longest training run had been 7k.

Well, the race happened last week – and you know what? I had So. Much. Fun!!! My favourite part was the swim for sure. As soon as I went in, I kept repeating to myself “This is your thing. This is what you’re good at” to calm my nerves and get motivated. As soon as I settled into a rhythm I started passing other swimmers, and felt great coming out of the water. The bike leg was fun too, except a couple of extremely steep (but mercifully short) hills. As expected, I found the run the hardest and was extremely grateful for the drinks station halfway through. But I finished! And contrary to all expectations, I didn’t expire on the run. I actually ran quite an ok time for my standards. Not my best but definitely better than expected!

I definitely want to do this again. I think if I start training earlier and stay consistent (hoping for fewer daycare-induced colds for our family next season), I just might be able to do an olympic distance tri next year. I definitely need to train more systematically for that, and it might not work out. But I’d love to give it a go!

Lessons learned?

• I can do this!
• It was fun!
• I want to do it again, and for longer!
• If I want to do a longer distance, I need to train more seriously.
• I should probably do something about my bike (learn to ride with clipless pedals, put on thinner tyres, get aero bars).
• I should probably get a tri suit. I bought tri shorts but the bike jersey I wore for the bike and run was not optimal for running as it kept riding up.
• Triathlons are expensive… whichever way you slice it. I bought minimal gear (wetsuit, polarised swimming goggles, a safety buoy for training, all of which which I will continue to use, tri shorts, and one of those elastic race bib holders), plus the registration fee, and adding it all up I’m now probably around more than 300 euros poorer than before. If I want to do a longer one, all the aforementioned enhancements to gear and bike will cost even more.
• Triathlons are as time-intensive as I thought, if not more.
• Being able to do a triathlon is a huge privilege.

I’m so glad my fit friend pushed me into this challenge – I’m not sure I would have worked up the courage on my own. Now that I’ve taken the first hurdle, doing a longer distance doesn’t seem quite so out of reach anymore. But first, I have another goal: I’ve signed up for a 4.5k open water swimming race on 1 September, so before I start tri-ing again, I’ll need to do a serious amount of swimming… once I’m over my current cold (little children really are super spreaders, and they will sneeze straight into your eyeballs, literally).