magazine monday: urban epic triathlon!

About three weeks ago I made the decision to sign up for my first triathlon since college.  Although I certainly was not in the same physical condition as I was a few years ago, I’d been running on and off, made a few visits to the pool, and even took my bike out on its first road ride in awhile, so I felt mildly comfortable with my decision to run a sprint (the shortest distance!) triathlon.  I guess it’s safe to say that over the past two years, since graduating from school & moving to Maine, starting my business & opening the studio, and buying a house, training for a triathlon has just not been one of my top priorities.  I knew that I’d keep using work as an excuse to not take that weekly long bike ride or go for a swim during lunch unless I went ahead, took the plunge, and signed up for a race.

When it came time to pick a race, I settled on Portland’s own Urban Epic Triathlon.  For one, it was a weekend entirely free of weddings, which was key for me.  Also, the thought of running a race in the actual city of Portland definitely piqued my interest, as I’d only completed rural races in the past.  And, finally, the name.  Urban Epic.  It just sounded cool.

My August issue of Runner’s World arrived two weeks ago with a feature title “Tri-Ready in 6 weeks!” on the cover.  While I didn’t quite have the recommended six weeks to prepare, I knew this article would be a great crash-refresher-course in the sport of triathlon . . . and not to mention, a perfect Magazine Monday!

While I wasn’t able to run as much as I would have liked to in the weeks prior to the race, I was able to get in one open water swim, wetsuit & all, with a local women’s triathlon training group.  No matter how many laps I had been able log at the pool, nothing prepares you for an ocean swim (in chilly Maine of all places!) than actually swimming in the ocean.  I’d also been able to take my bike out on more than a few solid 15-20 mile rides, a few miles beyond the required racing distance for Urban Epic.  I didn’t feel particularly stellar about my training, but I knew I’d finish . . . and hopefully finish with a smile on my face!

Saturday morning arrived and it was time to go!  Lucky for me, I had two of the best cheerleaders on the entire course- Michael & Orvis.  I could hear Michael yelling for me the minute I finished the brisk swim, and the image of Orvis’s happy tail wag as I rode by on the bike stayed with me later on in the race.  Of course, I cannot talk about this race and not mention the two Epic climbs at the end of the bike course.  We’re talking Lance Armstrong in the Alps kind of climbs.  Nothing short of Epic.  And as I was slowly creeping up these… mountains, if you will, watching cyclist after cyclist dismount and began walking their bikes up the hill, it became even more crucial to me stay on my bike, no matter how hard my legs hurt.  I channeled my inner Lance and pushed on.  And when I reached the top, and saw that dozens of people were cheering for me simply because I had stayed on my bike and endured the pain, I felt a little Epic myself.  Unfortunately my feelings of great Epic-ness soon became overshadowed by the excruciating pain in my legs.  Thankfully, the rest of the bike course was downhill . . .

I like to think of the race as another one of life’s thrilling adventures, and I feel so thankful to have been able to participate in it.  Yes, at times I was in pain, but there were other times when I was smiling or happily chatting with the runner next to me.  And while I’m not quite sure how I completed a race four times the distance of this one only a couple of years ago, I know I’ll sign up for another one.  It just felt good to Be Epic.  Kind of like Orvis.

Happy Magazine Monday!