I was once told that secrets don’t make friends. I often tell myself this when I try to keep secrets and fail miserably, thus making myself feel better for not putting it in the vault (Seinfeld rules!).
Monday I received an email from my sister, E, about a biathlon on the beach near us on Sunday. She suggested I sign up for this and she’d come watch (AKA laugh her ass off). It’s a 2 mile run, 0.33 mile swim, and then a 2 mile run. It’s followed by a slip n slide, so I am sure that also swayed her to offer me up to the sharks.
I told her I’d think about it. I turned secretively to my fellow BRA member, Navy Steve, whom I consider to be the most knowledgeable on tri’s. (I know this is a Bi people, but stay with me.) Since he knows how I swim and run I figured he could help me decide whether or not this was a good idea. I didn’t want to let people know I was considering this, especially those who may show up and see me flail around in the ocean. And thus laugh themselves into a coma.
He came up with some Pros and Cons. (Yay, list time!)
PROS
– you can swim, just don’t go out too fast
– you can run 4 miles
– transition should be easy, take off shoes put on goggles then take off goggles put on shoes
– a new challenge!
– NO BIKE (biggie for me since I have a fear of scraping my face at high rates of speed)
– will be a PR
– won’t interfere with other training as Sunday is recovery run day
CONS
– 2 early days in a row
– haven’t trained for it
– tired after Saturday’s 16 miler
– run is on the beach
– “I won’t be there.” Navy Steve (he said he meant for support, but I think he meant cause he couldn’t participate, the BRA is a competitive lot)
– lungs will be burning due to sprinting
– first open water swim in the ocean (saltwater and cootie bungalows!!*)
After our email exchange I decided to go for it. And then promptly told my buddy the Redhead. And swore her to secrecy. I was going to do a surprise race report. This was all on Monday by 2 PM.
But by about 5:30 on Monday after full on obsess-fest, I decided I had to share with my BRA and facebook friends. So why not tell my bloggy peeps too? I need feedback, support, and possible CPR.
See? Terrible secret keeper.
I am nervous. Please provide supportive comments below.
*Those random things that brush up against you while in a large body of water = cootie bungalows.
You are going to do awesome! I have complete faith in you and your flailing… I mean swimming… 🙂 Seriously, I may just have to trek over there to watch becauase I'm so excited for you! (And thank you for explaining the cootie bungalows because I was soooooo lost!) Just remember: Go and Have FUN! Don't worry about anything but finishing!
You make me laugh! I think that would be an awesome experience. The pros definitely outweighed the cons!
Stop worrying!! You will do fine. Reports from your swim sessions say you are like a mermaid. O.K. tough to use a bathtub, but you get my drift.
My advice? Don't obsess. Have fun. Just Do It!!
Oooh! I'm excited for you! I think you'll do better than you expect, and will be hooked! Looking forward to hearing about it!!
Um, "you can do it" "you're almost there" "if the run doesn't kill you, the ocean may drown you" – yeah, you're kinda on your own with me.
Good luck – you will do awesome!! I'm dying to a duathlon (run/bike) but a swim/run sounds awesome, too!!
WoooooHoooooo SPlash and Dash is what we call swim/run events out this way and they are MY FAVORITE OF ALL!! Have fun!!!
I am very happy you shared your secret– you Should ALWAYS share your secret with your blogger friends- We all will ALWAYS pull for you– and it's more positive energy!
YEAA! How fun! you're going to rock it girl, I just know it. I'm excited for you and can't wait to hear more about it. 🙂
Ok lets really look at this. Are you a good runner (easy running)? check…are you a good swimmer ( I mean can you swim 11 laps in a pool?yes )? Check….DONE you do it. You are fit enough, you wont be super fast or in great duathlon shape but you will gain some experience your triathlon career will benfit from. I SAY DO IT WITH AN OPEN MIND AND HAVE FUN! Afterall you are an endurance ATHLETE!
Yay! Good luck! You'll do great, I'm sure! And, I can't keep a secret to save my life..
I predict that you will finish and then look back and wonder what you were worried about.
Can't wait to read the race report!
Sounds like fun, go for it! Even if you do it at a relaxed pace, it's a PR!
You will do awesome girl!!! No worries!! Can't wait to hear about it!!!
Well…from one obsesser to another…here is a big HUG! I understand. Truly I do. I think you will do great to tell you the truth. And hey- you have YOUTH on your side girl! Go for it!
You'll do great!! And just think how much fun you will have. Can't wait to hear how it goes.
OMG! I hate those random planty things that brush up against you! I thought I was the only one! haha. I think you'll do fantastic and it sounds like it'll be fun! Um, SLIP N SLIDE? Awesome.
What if you just take your 16 miler super easy?
Good luck. Focus only on the pros. 🙂
Hey! Sorry I've been away, but yeah, totally go for it! I'm all about the fun and the automatic PR! Wahoo!
lol. i can understand the nerves and wanting to keep it a secret 🙂
good luck! you will do awesome and hello, automatic pr! try not to worry about it too much and just have fun with it. you haven't been training for it, yet you know you have the ability to compete in it AND finish it which is pretty awesome in itself! a lot of people train for months for things like this!
sounds like fun -go for it!
You are going to have a blast. You can so do this! Try your best, have fun and all will be fine. Good luck. I am so excited for you!!!
I've never done one because I have a groove in running and don't want to feel uncoordinated swimming, etc. So good luck, and admire your willingness to stretch yourself!
That sounds so exciting! I love a new experience. Good luck!
You go girl! It sounds fun and challenging… and the slip-n-slide is an awesome finish!
I'll be looking forward to a full report! 🙂
I'm so jealous I can't do this race! I've done triathlons, but I HATE biking. I've never seen a race that was just swimming and running. Saltwater makes you more buoyant so that will make part of it easier. Just remember to relax and take your time swimming out against the waves. The first race I swam in the ocean, I started out way too fast and hard (and there was hurricane off-shore causing kind of ridiculous waves, which you won't have to deal with) and got frustrated. As soon as I relaxed, it was all fine. There will also (I'm sure) be plenty of lifeguards floating around on rescue tubes out there, too. Good luck!
You will kick butt and take names! Goodluck! Can't wait to hear about it 🙂
Good for you, and good luck!