J. H. Authors

One Woman. Three Names. Many Books.

Triathlon

Cranberry Sprint Tri–Race Report

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Well, I did it. Here’s the race report–warts and all.

On Saturday August 28 I did the Cranberry Sprint Triathlon. I started, and I finished. As this was my first tri, that was as far as my goals went, though I did want to try and come in under 2.5 hours. Still not sure of my time. (UPDATE, I finished in 2:16).

Like everything that pushes you past your comfort zone, I learned a great deal about myself during this process, and especially on Saturday. My biggest “a ha”? I feel like a fraud as an athlete. It has only been a little over a year since I decided to seriously try to push myself athletically. This summer I have been stregnth training, and tri training. I haven’t lost a pound, but I have lost inches and gained muscle. I have a ways to go, but I am on a path. All of that said, as I stood waiting to be in the last wave of the swim (!), doubts crept in. I have a lot more work to do on my mental game.

SWIM
The swim was ½ mile. And it sucked. I swam for a bit, sighted the buoy, saw how far it was and I started to hyperventilate. So I went to my back. Since I was in the last wave, there weren’t a lot of swimmers around. Towards the end, there were just three of us. I won’t lie—I almost quit, but I didn’t. There was a surfboard guy who stuck by me, and literally talked me through it. Made a huge difference. I was the last one out of the water. I was met by a weeping friend, who said “I’m so proud of you.” Can’t even say what that meant.

BIKE
On my way back to the transition area I decided to just finish the race. even though I was last. I didn’t have to wrestle with anyone else to get out, so I just focused, went through my routine and took the bike off the rack. A BostonFit friend found me, and reminded me to breathe use the bike to relax. Easier said than done, but I tried. I wore my camelback, thankfully (the bottle thing
while riding still isn’t happening). I didn’t refuel in transition, and that was a mistake. The ride wasn’t bad—it was a two loop course, and I didn’t see anyone on my second loop. I got more zen about being last.

RUN
I am always a slow runner, and I was tired, but I had come so far. Though when I saw the one mile marker I screamed—probably aloud. Damn that first mile sucks. The next two weren’t much better, but I did them, with two one minute walk breaks.

As I was running the rest of the course alone people were driving by, on their way home. Most of them opened their windows to cheer me on. Every cop, every volunteer, everyone just kept encouraging me. So even though I was the only person running that final bit, I felt good. And I saw my entire BostonFit posse cheering me on. And then my family, and my BFF David were waiting at the finish line.

Will I do it again. Yes. Next season. After I train my body and mind this winter.

The Summer of Kicking it Up

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This AM I went for a 70 minute bike ride and 10 minute run with my Boston Fit peeps. Add a 1/2 mile swim in front, and quadruple the run, add three weeks and ta dah. Cranberry Sprint on the 28th. The swim still freaks me out a bit (though a swim clinic put on by Max Performance helped A LOT). I may be last. It may not be pretty. But I’m going to get this done.

That isn’t the only stretch of the summer. I am joining a blog on Monday–the New Hampshire Writers’ Network blog. Their motto is “Live to Write–Write to Live”. I admire the work of the blog, and am really thrilled to be a part of it.

And theatrically, all of my subscriptions are in. And last week I had some inspiring moments–meeting Doug Elkins (whose piece, FRAULEIN MARIA, will be at the Paramount in September), seeing a dress rehearsal of THE SUN ALSO RISES and then OTHELLO. All in the same day. I haven’t seen as much theatre as I would like to this summer, but I am starting to flex my muscles a bit. This looks to be a very exciting season in Boston theatre. You will be hearing much more about it.

And talk about stretching…despite injuries galore, the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night.

Life is good. Life is great.

Comfort Zone Stretch

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I am trying to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve blogged about the triathlon training. and will continue to do so until the end of the month (D Day is August 28). But the tri training in about doing something I’m not good at, getting better but being comfortable with being mediocre.

My other comfort zone is about being more present in various writing communities. Responding on listservs. Commenting on blogs. Letting people know when I think their work is good.  And letting people know about this blog.

I am also going to  start guest  blogging with a group–the New Hampshire Writer’s Network blog. I am an admirer of their work, and thrilled to be a part.  Those blog posts are taking some crafting.

These tend to be written on the fly. But I need to keep up with them, and use them as a daily exercise. Especially if I start letting people know it is here.

Stretching is exhausting.  But it feels great.

Tri Tri Again

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OK, so the plan is not going to work. I am just going to write what I want, when I want and try to make it regular.

So here’s the story. Last fall I ran the BAA Half Marathon. There are posts about that journey. And while it was life altering, I didn’t do it right. I didn’t take heed about the cross training (and strength training). I think I ultimately lost muscle mass. So rather than becoming fitter, I did a huge thing, then nothing.

So this year I thought it would be good to train for a triathlon. Cross training, blah blah blah. I figured I could ride a bike. And swim. And I’d learned how to run. So I joined BostonFit (a great support system), bought a bike and set forth. And I have been humbled. Supported, but humbled. I got my bike fit, and realized that I had to relearn how to ride a bike. I swam, but can’t swim far without reverting to a backstroke. And I realized I have bad form.

Ironically, I am slow at the running, but that is going well.

So the last few days (beginning of July, the tri I’ve signed up for is Aug 28) has been a regroup. I could bow out, keep on with the fitness quest. Or I could crank it up a notch. I decided to crank it up. Which meant:

  • Download THE SLOW FAT TRIATHLETE on my Kindle, and reread it. It is by Jayne Williams (who also blogs) and makes the whole process seem doable.
  • Sign up for a Master’s Class at the Y for swimming. This is a class for people who want to get better at swimming. Hopefully it will help me break through this hurdle. I start tomorrow.
  • Ride my bike to work. I got a space there, and bought a pannier for my bike. I psyched myself up this AM, and then the pannier didn’t fit right. So I transferred everything to my knapsack, then rode around the parking lot a couple of times to make sure I wouldn’t fall over. I got there, sweaty and disgusting, but I got there. Problem was, I had to ride home. Close to rush hour. I ended up walking the bike to the esplanade, cursing the whole thing. But then, the esplanade. I rode for a few miles, then over the Mass Ave bridge to home.

What did I learn? That I am stubborn. The whole bike bag thing would have derailed others. That I should wear bike shorts every time. And, in a related topic, that I have to learn to anticipate bumps and stand up. (ow)