I don’t want to use the word with any seriousness as it applies to me — we’ve had a lot of fun chats with people this summer about what allows you to use the word — but we woke up at 3 a.m. for a triathlon, so, today, I’m going to call myself a triathlete.
Said that before the race. Before the signing in, the body markings, the struggling to make sense of a narrow transition area, the restless, nervous and giddy waiting for the time trial swim start.
I stopped thinking that in the water, where I started thinking about I should get serious about swimming. Which means figuring my shoulder out, etc and ad nauseam. In the water I’m just hanging on, trying to finish and save some energy.
And, this morning, I helped save a woman. I came up alongside her just as she stopped swimming out and started swimming up. I asked her if she was OK, but she didn’t say anything. When I pulled just a bit in front of her I noticed her eyes were glassy and she looked like she was climbing a ladder. Went back, touched her elbow, talked to her and she didn’t even know I was there.
In these open water swims they have canoes and jet skis and kayaks to help people. I held her up while someone summoned over a nearby kayak and she grabbed on. I saw her later, I think it was her, on the bike. She was going out as I was coming back. And she looked good. But scary nonetheless.
I pedaled hard on the bike, looked down at the computer and realized I wasn’t halfway done with the ride, but rather just a few miles into it. And then a mile later I threw my chain. So a lot of people that shouldn’t have passed me. Later I’d pass a lot of them back. Without that chain problem I would have had a great ride.
This race runs through a planned neighborhood and all the nice people came out to cheer the racers on, which was pretty cool. They had bleachers up near the finish line. More people were braving the rain and unseasonably cool — I’ve never shivered in August, before today — to urge you into the run and congratulate you when you return.
The run weaved down a golf cart path through the woods, alongside the lake we just swam through and back again. Too many people passed me on the run, but that was to be expected.
My time was more than expected, which was disappointing. But I finished with a smile and I didn’t finish last. So at least those two goals were met.
Great day for it. Good race. Poor triathlete.
(The Yankee, of course, had a great race.)
