We rode together all summer, Danielle and I. Side by side where there was no traffic and when we were in traffic, I would lead the way. I talked her into doing a bike trip on Camano Island in June and not only got in some great riding, but it bonded us. She’d done the 70.3 before and asked me if it would be something I’d want to do? “You kick my ass every time we ride, she said, “You’d kill it on the bike part.” “No way, I tell her, “I’m too old.” Looking back, I can hear the limiting belief in the sound of my voice.
We ride the same route a lot, next to the river where the views are gorgeous, feeling like a kid, almost wanting to shout, “Look Mom, no hands!” Rolling hills, with some long flats and a short but nasty hill at the end.
In late October, on the last ride of the season, we decide on 28 miles, riding the loop the opposite way and finishing up the season with that hill. As we began the ascent, I’m feeling gassed and my crotch is killing me but I bear down with long pedal strokes as she gains on me, inch by inch. I work harder, groaning and panting, determined to beat her up the hill especially, on this last day. Barely a bike length ahead of her, I make it to the top – wheezing and panting, trying to catch my breath when I ask, “Did you make it your goal to beat me up this hill?” She looks at me funny and says, “No, not at all.” Not sure if I believe her, I say, “Well, I sure as hell made it mine, to never let it happen.” We both laugh.
I started dating an Australian guy I’d met earlier in August and told him I was thinking about doing a Half Ironman. Wait…Did I just say that to him? Was I really thinking about it? He calls me Sparkle Spice (I wear a lot of sparkles) and tells everyone I’m a triathlete. I correct him. He introduces me to his son who IS an Ironman (Full distance), and somehow, by osmosis or some sort of trick-monkey trickery, I wake up one Sunday morning a few days after he’s left to go back to Australia and register for the Coeur d’Alene Half Ironman. Well, now I’ve done it and I have instant buyer’s remorse.
What am I thinking? The fact is, since this all began, I’ve asked myself that question So. Many. Times. But I did what I thought would be a good start and bought a book, Your First Triathlon by Joel Friel. One thing…he doesn’t recommend a half Ironman as your first. Oh well. Then, I enlisted the help of my close friend Julie, asking her to work with me so I could learn to run and eat for endurance sports. Did I mention she’s a Health & Wellness expert, Registered Dietician and former Running Coach? Yeah. Fate right?
Starting November 1, 2021, I began my research. I started with my running shoes. I’ve always been a big fan of Aisics, but every attempt to be a runner again over the last ten years, has resulted in knee issues. I started reading about foot types: Collapsed arches, flat feet etc. My research brought me to Fleet Feet for a gait evaluation. They fitted me with a shoe and I felt ready to try it out. As hard as it was to start S-L-O-W, I didn’t want to get injured and so with Julie’s coaching, we began to run together. At first, it was run two blocks, walk one. Then, run a half mile, walk one minute. Then, one mile, walk one minute. By early December, I was running more than walking and up to three miles. Gradually, I’ve made my way to 5.5 (slower) miles on the long run day, monitoring my heart rate and slowing down to get to keep it between Zone 3 and 4. I’m making it my goal, that by the beginning of May, I will be at 10 miles for my long days.
Next, I need to figure out how to swim for distance. Not speed. I mean, I have 01:00:10 to complete a 1.2 mile swim in open water. It seems like a lot, but for a recreational-jump-off-the-dock-and-swim-back kind of swimmer, I have a lot to learn about swim stroke and efficiency, but my next step had to be joining a club that had a pool. As a blonde, chlorine is not my friend and I needed to get over my phobias about germs and green hair, (Yes, I’m a bit of a germaphobe). But more about swimming later.
Through this ongoing process and journey, I’ve realized so many things in our lives line up when we have a dream and create a system for making it happen. People, circumstances and things, come to us when we are in alignment with what we want. I wanted to do this and the further in I got, the more I wanted it. But the mental challenge is more difficult than the physical one (believe it or not).
Building a community with like-minded, active people were going to be key. One day while sitting at Thomas Hammer’s having coffee with a couple friends (I’d just finished a 3- mile run), I noticed a group of runners come in together. I watched for a few minutes before working up the courage to ask them about their running group. During my conversation with one of them, she told me about Team Blaze, a local Spokane Triathlon group I could join. Aft er breakfast, I went home and immediately got on my computer and looked it up. Registration was open for the 2022 season, December 16. I set a calendar reminder on my phone, and right before Christmas, I joined Team Blaze. I was building my community.
To find out more about my journey to Becoming a Triathlete, follow me on Instagram at:
Tamara_K_Williams and comment in the section below if you like this post.
Leave a Reply