Scott and I took short rides on the bike paths in DC and Virginia and gradually built up my endurance for longer rides in the Shenandoah Mountains and other nearby valleys. The more comfortable I got, the more I started to think about doing a triathlon again. Scott and I talked about it and he confided that he’d always thought about it, too. But fearing his swimming was not up to par, he stuck to duathlon events highlighting his running and biking skills. Then one day, he gifted me with a one-year membership to the DC Tri Club. The gift came with the caveat that I didn’t have to do a triathlon, but that I could use the group workouts as motivation. And if I wanted (“No pressure”), I could work towards doing one in the future. I ran to the computer to Google “public pools, Washington DC.”
That was about eight months ago, and I’m currently in training for my very first triathlon. I’ve selected an all women’s event later this summer (if for no other reason than to avoid any inadequate feelings of being lapped by sweaty, six-packed men—now I’ll just feel inadequate as sweaty, six-packed women lap me). I’m nervous, for sure, but I’ve still got plenty of time to prepare for the event in August. My girlfriend Elizabeth has done a number of sprint triathlons (sprint being the shortest-distance race: 750-meter swim, 18-mile bike, 5k run) and is helping me train. We meet once or twice a week at 6 a.m. to ride for an hour and a half and we swim in the evenings at a free pool on Capitol Hill. I know there will be a lot more women out there at the race who will do better than I will, but I’m not going to concentrate on that. I’m going to focus on doing my best and finishing so that I can tell the next generation of triathletes that this was the best summer of my life.
Photo of the author and her bike, courtesy of the author
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