Hello All.
Thank you for following along with these adventures.
Last Sunday, I did my first 1/2 ironman, making it my longest triathlon to date, in Panama City. For those of you who don't follow the triathlon world, the 1/2 iron man distance is a 1.8 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, followed by a 13.2 mile run.
I didn't feel that I had trained as much as I could have-though the 3 peaks challenge the weekend before was a good confidence boost in endurance, I hadn't put in the time on the bike. The weather was cold in Spain, and as I don't do much winter cycling, I didn't want to go out and buy all the gear, thus, my training was in doors while watching long movies.
Upon arriving in Panama I did take my bike for a spin on the road and it felt quite good. That was a confidence booster as I had a re-fit and my bike felt more comfortable, and I felt more comfortable on it. Of the 3 parts of triathlon, I would say that biking is my weakest. If you look at the percentage of time spent on each discipline, it works against me, as the longest time in spent on the bicycle.
Race day arrived, bright and early. The alarm went off at 3:30 AM, and I had the thought: "Why did I sign up for this??" Nerves had certainly sunk it, but I tried to eat some breakfast and prepare.
The buzz of the pre-triathlon is always fun, and watching everyone helped take my mind off of things. We met some really great people along the way who were wonderful, and a great way to keep my mind off my nerves.
The swim began off a pier in the Panama Canal-an adventure in and of itself. 50 minutes behind schedule, the race was given the OK to begin. I was in the 3rd wave, so into the water we went. The estimated temperature was 78 degrees, though I felt it was much colder. Making my way to the swim finish, I fell into my rhythm. (I am the most comfortable in the swim) Out of the water we ran, up stairs that had been made at the drop off to the water is quite steep. I ran 600 meters to the transition area and prepared to leave on my bike.
Setting off on the bike was nerve-wracking. I don't know how to change a flat tire-so if I happened to get a flat I would be out of the race. I have been lucky in the past, or the races I've done have been shorter, so if I got a flat it would end the race anyway. I felt that the 1/2 ironman was different, and felt annoyed with myself for not having learned. In the commotion of trying for a fast transition, I forgot to tuck in my food. (I don't like exercise bars and gels, so I have found that dried fruits, which are high in sugar, are a great energy source that I enjoy eating along the way.) I suppose there are two ways to look at my mistake. As I am such an amateur, I really wasn't concerned, figuring I could pick up food along the way, which I did, and this was a minimal cause of stress to me. Had I participated in more events, I think this may have been more nervewracking. I can't drink or eat and ride my bike at the same time, so a few pull overs to re-fuel my energy stores, and just over 4 hours later I was off on the run.
Upon getting off the bike the lack of food hit me, but, I knew exactly what it was, I took a few minutes in transition, drank my electrolyte water, with additional lifeice cubes, plus a few mangos and strawberries and I was feeling good.
In the heat of the Panamanian sun I took off for the final leg-the 1/2 marathon. It was a 2 loop run, which I found to be quite nice, knowing where I would be the second time around. The run was painful, there is no way around that with the training I put in. The heat was brutal, but I made sure to stop at every aid station for water, gatorade, food, and ice which I stuffed into my shirt. I felt at moments like an ice machine!
I was entering into the final 1/3 of a mile, when I noticed someone waving. Walid, my husband and I, had signed up for the race together. I thought he had finished and come to cheer me on, but he had waited half an hour under a tree so that we could finish together. There was certainly an energy boost there, and finishing together was a very special experience.
Finishing an event like this is interesting. In my case, I was so happy that a) it was over and b) that I had done it! I felt sore but happy.
We walked back to our bikes, returned to the shuttle, which we crowded on with many other sweaty tired triathletes, and returned to our hotel.
I think I may have suffered a bit of dehydration or effects from the heat. Once getting into the hotel room and ordering food, extreme pain in my legs kicked in, in addition to extremes between chills and overheating. After many glasses of water and electrolyte drinks, plus my special early stash of lifeice cubes, I was sleeping by 8pm.
I woke up the next morning feeling much less sore, and HUNGRY! Over breakfast we saw friends we had made along the way, and the spirit was light and happy.
I would like to thank everyone who was following along. There were moments when I wanted to stop-especially towards the end of the bike, but knowing that I had people watching from a far kept me going. It was not easy, but I had some wonderful people along the way, all who gave their own little pep talks which I kept in my mind.
We have a bit of down time, before my next adventure, which is fast approaching in the end of march.
Stay tuned to the blog-I will be posting in between then.
Until then I am basking in my 1/2 ironman finishing glory.
Anna grew up as part of a family of subsistence farmers in Mwenga, DRC. She never attended school. Anna's husband did not work and she struggled to provide for her six children working so hard that she fell ill. When Anna joined the Women for Women International programme, she was the poorest member of her group. But she soon learnt how she could start a small business with little money. She got 19 of her class mates to form a savings circle. Today, Anna is the president of a women's cooperative producing and selling bread. They have even opened a bank account in a local microfinance institution and are planning to grow their business.
