I have no idea how I came across this blog post last night. It was from the blog I keep about my kids… and it was posted right before Swim Bike Mom started on August 26, 2010. And it cracked me up because I sometimes forget how far I have come—and sometimes, I forget how hard it was to SWIM for the first time. I have pasted the post below.
My favorite part? My spelling of “triathalon.”
- AUGUST 17, 2010
“Slow Fat Triathlete
I said, “No really, I am going to swim, bike and run… in a race.” He mocked me, saying “No, Mommy ! No race!”
Earlier, Stella put her hands over her eyes when I said, “Mommy is going to swim in the morning.” Thanks, guys!
Well, at the ripe hour of 4:40 this morning, my alarm beeps, and I head to the gym. Me and my mom swimsuit. Yes, I have ordered a slick looking Speedo number with silicone swimcap, but the getup will not arrive until next week. And I say, best to getmoving while the motivation has slapped me – no time to waste here.
Board shorts and impractical swim top it is. Goggles. Check. (Sweet).
Three Olympic proportioned laps later, I am dying. I have sucked in water through my nose, my mouth and somehow, through my ears. I am huffing and puffing. Yesterday, I told my Ultra Marathon running friend that I really didn’t think the swim part was going to kill me in my hypothetical triathalon. I lied. Holy cows.
I managed to paddle, swim, lay, roll, bob and sputter through about forty minutes of water time. I consider that a massive victory. Hey, I got in the pool! Hey, in my mom suit! Hey, at an athletic club where everyone is about 100 pounds, runs the Kona Ironman for fun and in my imagination, comes to the pool with a bloody harpoon to stab folks like me.
But it was nice. And everyone was nice. The true athletes looked on a little sympathetically (aw, look at that special momsuit), but nice, nevertheless.
Now, I am wondering about the bike portion. (No need to speak about my running skills. I have none.) I feel most confident with the bike part. I “easily” handle an hour straight of Ironman Gerry [the coach now known as Monster] on Fridays, so that has to be at least fifteen miles a class. By “easily,” I acutally mean that I do not pass out. Theoretically, I think I could do at least ten more miles.
I don’t know about my bold and big decisions here. I should probably have my head checked.
Whether a Slow Fat Triathlete or otherwise, I will do it.
Now, if I could just get my children to stop laughing at me…”
And now you are training for an Ironman! That is amazing!
Perfect timing. I just returned home from my first “swim” (how hard could it be? i thought.) of the first day of my 12 week first-time triathAlon “training.” I’m pretty sure the only reason I didn’t drown was the buoyant nature of my superfluous back fat. I’m grateful that I can still wriggle my fingers enough to type, since lifting any bone or skin like structure further north than my wrist will require the help of my husband. And I’m thinking whilst tears of panic (or is that leftover chlorine?) rise to the surface, “What have I done?” So the fact that this post was at the top of my facebook feed is proof that there is a God. Thank you.
Sure puts everything in perspective. It was posts like this from way back when that kept me going in triathlon (or triathalon). So glad you put it all out there for the rest of us to draft behind. My triathlon life wouldn’t be the same without you (ok, my regular life wouldn’t be either
).
The first time I told my husband I was going to run a marathon he looked at me very sweetly and said, “If you say so.” He tried to hide his little smile, but I saw it and I knew he didn’t believe. But I did and that’s all that mattered.
You believed then and you believe you will finish an Ironman now. I know you will! Keep on truckin’!
Great post! My kids are my toughest critics, too! “Whaddya mean, you didn’t win? You let someone beat you?”
that made this slow fat “runner” who likes to read tri blogs cry. nice job.
What got me about this post was the date. As I was reading it, it was like reading an article on microfiche in school: a glimpse into the past… Except that it was just 2.5 years ago!! You have come SO far SO fast!! The amount you have accomplished in that time with your fitness, life, career, this page, your book and so many other things really boggles my mind. You are living by the advice “make the most of the time you are given”. Inspiring!