This is it. St. Anthony’s is just around the corner – or, for me – just across the bay. Am I ready? I’m certainly not as ready as I could be, but I’ll be okay. I have competed in the Olympic distance before, albeit a few years back, try 23. Yes, I competed in a dozen or so triathlons back in the mid 80’s. My brother, Milt Bedingfield, one of Tampa’s earliest triathletes, probably the first one, was doing the Ironman Hawaii every year back then, nine times in all, and he inspired me. Milt’s busy raising five kids now, but mine are all grown up, so I’ve decided to try a tri again.
I think I did my last Olympic distance – although they didn’t call it that back then – in 1986. Yes, I am that old. So what? I still love to run, and I still love to swim. And, unfortunately, I still hate to bike.
I’ve been doing plenty of running over the last few months, including three halfs, so I’m comfortable with that.
Swimming? Well, that’s actually my strongest event. I haven’t been swimming much, but I have been in the water several times recently, each time putting in a mile or more. And distance events were my forte in high school. Plus, I’ve intensified my weight training lately; so I’m ready enough for the swim.
So, it comes down to the bike. Ouch! I just don’t like to bike. I think it’s just that awkward – for me – position. I just don’t have the back for it. Still, I have put in a few sessions over the last few weeks. And most of the time I did bricks, a bike ride followed immediately by a run. My friend Frank Helfrich highly recommends them, and I have to admit that running after biking has gotten much easier as a result.
I guess I’m ready enough. I bought a cute new tri suit – skin suit – I think they call it, and I’ve rented a wetsuit. That’s not so cool, but I didn’t want to buy one just for this one race. Now I still need to purchase some tri glide. Not sure what exactly that is, but I understand I’ll need it to gracefully exit my wetsuit.
Yes, I’m ready. If I enjoy the race, then I’ll sign up for the Madeira Beach Tri in a few weeks. That one is a shorty, a true sprint.
I have to say that even though my triathlon training has not been intense, I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my running as a result of the increased cross training, and I love that. I hope to see some of you out there. I’ll be wearing my RunTampa.com shirt after the race, and I’ll be looking tired but happy for sure :)
Comments