Sunday, August 16, 2009
From a first time triathlete
Yes, I was crazy enough to join my first triathlon last June 14. The Vitwater Animo Sprint Triathlon 2009 was held at Ayala Alabang, which brought me back to my alma mater De La Salle Zobel. It was a dream come true for me. I often wondered what it would be like to join one but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine ever signing up for one.
Ever since my husband Anthony got obsessed with joining his first triathlon last year after getting inspired by Fernando Zobel to go for the Anvaya Invitational Triathlon, he has spent many hours training and even got all our four children involved in his madness. He didn't want to be away from them too much so he signed them up to join the Super Tri Kids division. Anthony often persuaded me to join him because I have been running, biking, and swimming, but I dismissed the idea quickly and made countless excuses. I told him my knee would probably never be able to take the pressure and the sun wouldn't be good for my skin, etc. Plus, I reminded him that I intend to live a laid-back life as I get to the age of 40. That I would only confine myself to simple, relaxing sports that would just be enough to have me wear a skimpy bikini when I turn 40.
Hah! That was just wishful thinking as I for one was never the laid-back type of a person. In reality, I always enjoyed the great outdoors and extreme sports adventures. As a kid, I was always in the streets, being the champion patotoy for patintero, and my grandmother always summoned me from our guava tree before dark. Our summers were spent on the beach where I learned and loved to sail. During my high school days in the States, I joined the swim team where we won as City Champs and got into cross country running because my best friend Irma encouraged me to run with her. I skied all throughout our winter breaks and got certified as an aerobics instructor before I graduated high school. Just recently, I got into biking because I didn't want to be away from my husband while he rides with his siblings and friends as they discover new and exciting terrains via his mountain bike.
I guess you can't really keep me indoors much when it comes to exercise. Indoors are for gathering strength and getting centered but getting fit means being out there where the action is. I just learned these things about myself lately. I don't enjoy being confined to the gym when getting fit.
Every time I bump into Sen. Pia Cayetano, I ask her questions about running and how to make it part of my routine. She doesn't give me difficult do's and don'ts but friendly reminders on how to get started like deciding to walk first, then run for 30 minutes, and then slowly but surely work myself up to running longer distances as I get stronger. I have since enjoyed walking with friends and then eventually increased my distances as I experimented on running and then swimming on other days to rest my knees.
I was surprised to find myself enjoying the time to reflect and get energized as I sweat and, yes, lose unwanted inches that I looked forward to my next run, swim or bike time. As I observed Anthony get really fit and sexy, I was encouraged to get consistent and then eventually sign up for a mini sprint triathlon so that I would get motivated to really work hard.
I am super blessed to have a mentor like Iron(Wo)man Geraldine Santiago who lent me her amazing bike and enumerated the pointers I needed to get ready for my first triathlon. How can one go wrong when you've got encourager/route guide Vitwater boss Greg Banzon who was Anthony's friend and running mate since their college days? When you surround yourself with people who believe with you, you just end up getting more hooked!
I was super excited as the day of the race got closer. I felt a different high as I started my swim and my arms and legs just kept going so fast that even if I wanted to slow down, I couldn't. It was probably because of the excitement of being actually in the pool and experiencing the impossible. I found it such a wonderful privilege to be able to share in my husband's passion for the same sport and to go through all the preparations and the jitters together. The get-together after the race was wonderful. It gave me a chance to bond with people we've not seen for a long time and get to know more about past acquaintances and discover new friends that I could probably train and race with.
My children were so happy I finished and, yes, with my head up high and not being carried to the finish line on a stretcher as we had constantly prayed for before bed. I'm glad I took my daughter Hannah's advice to go for the mini sprint division for my first triathlon. I felt really good finishing well. My daughter Ella thought I'd finish last but was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had actually made it to the top 10 in the women's division. I finished eighth among 25 women finishers. I still have to pinch myself every once in a while and constantly looked at the photos to actually convince myself that I had managed to finish my 350m swim in 0:08:55.00, 11km bike in 0:34:42.00, and 3.2km run in 0:23:19.08 completing all three in 1:06:56.08. I did it! It made my husband and kids really proud and happy. That's just the beginning as I look forward to improving my training/racing and conquering new adventures to share with my family and friends. More importantly, I have found where I belong, carved an activity to provide myself some me time and for that I am happy.
I love life!