Lake Nasworthy Sprint Tri

About two months ago I walked into my in-laws kitchen and gave my father-in-law some news that would change his way of thinking. I told him that I had entered us into a sprint triathlon. We would be a team and he was going to do the biking part. A whole 10 miler! I would do the swim and the run and he would bike. With a blank stare he just nodded and mumbled “Well alright then.” So the training started that next day with a 12 mile bike ride. I wanted him to know that he could in fact bike the 10 and survive. After that, William was on his own. I would ride with him when we came up on the weekends, but most of his riding was done without me and after work. He did manage to encourage one of his neighbors to get her bike out and start riding! Sometimes that is all it takes.
The one thing that he needed was a good road bike. So with one phone call to my brother-in-law, Devin, we had what we needed. Devin gave William one of the nicest road bikes I have ever had the chance to ride. It is a Specialized bike for those that know anything about bikes, and it is fast! William said that it was the fastest bike he had ever ridden and he didn’t know if he really wanted it to go any faster!
So we trained and trained. Colin put himself in the position as head coach, and started thinking of how fast we needed to be and how long we should take time wise. He said “You should be able to do it all in one hour and eight minutes.” That was our goal.
I have been meeting my friends Erika and Chelsey Lou in the mornings and running at least four miles three or more times a week, and working in some swim laps here and there. So I felt ready and William was ready to get it over with!

(Pops and I before the race)

Race day finally made its way around and I was having a hard time containing my excitement! I had done a sprint triathlon two years ago, so I was ready for the event to get started. William had never, and probably thought that he would never, competed in something like this.
We pulled up to the park where the transition area was and got all our gear together. Got our numbers written on us, which William thought was so fun! They write your age on your calve and he said it was so when you crash they know what type of medical equipment to bring.
Then we started setting up the transition area. Bikes galore! Spandex as far as the eye can see, and some of the craziest running getups I have ever seen! William very well could have been throwing up on the inside, but was a cool as ice on the outside. That must be where Colin gets that from!

(Me racing out of the water to go tag William.)
We had our meeting and then before I knew it, I was in the water ready to go! I took off in the first wave of swimmers and then three minutes later the second wave would take off. Open water swimming, for those of you that are swimmers, is like no other. If you are used to swimming in a pool with lanes and walls to push off from, open water will eat your lunch! But 300 yards wasn’t too terribly bad. I managed, but now know that I will have to swim more before the next one.

(Speed racer coming in! He made his whole family proud that day!!)

So I raced out of the water and located my teammate. We tagged and he was off to do his 10 mile bike run. I then went back to our spot in the transition area and took my sweet time drying off and getting my stuff on and together for the run once William got back. Forty five minutes after the first wave of swimmers took off; the first runner was crossing the finish line. Oh man, the pressure was on now!

(Just in sight of the finish line)

Then more runners and more bikers were coming in…Then I see William! He was moving too! Once he got to the white line, off I went! I felt good and fell into a great pace. I was surprised at the fact that I was passing people…Lots! But I had to remember that most had just come off a bike and my legs were not as tired as theirs were. But still it was a small victory for me given that I am not a speedy runner. After running what seemed to be the longest one mile of my life I turned and headed back. As I came to the home stretch I could see the time…1:07…So I kicked it up and made it across the finish line in 1:08:!!! I could hardly believe that we did it in the exact time that Colin had set for us! I was so proud of William and excited about how well we did together as a team.

(William was happy to be done and still alive!)

I am already hoping that he will want to do another one, because I am all ready to go!
I do want to encourage anyone that reads this to get out and try something new!! William had not been “working out” prior to me telling him that he was on my team. Set some goals, sign up for some races or for some walks. Give yourself something to work towards. The San Angelo area has a running club called the San Angelo Road Lizards and they put on a bunch of events - most of them have short 1 mile distances and you can walk and run in many. The hardest part really is starting and making up your mind that this is what you want to do. I was not, and I can’t emphasize the not enough, a runner. But all I had to do was start. I did short distances to start with and then as that got easy I added to it. Now short runs are 4 miles in length. I am not trying to brag on myself, I just want everyone to know that it was hard at first and that 4 miles seemed like it was so far away. But stick to it, whatever it is that you are doing, and know that if you are doing anything it is better then doing nothing!
And again, I am so proud of William and all his hard work that he put into our team event! For him I think this is just the start. He has a goal and the drive to attain it! Go Pops and thank you for being such a great sport and father-in-law!