1.2 mile swim
|
56 mile bike
|
13.1 mile run
|
My first half ironman! Part of Vineman, the full 140.6, Barb´s race is on the same course for the 70.3
I could provide a triathlon analogy for every aspect of life essentials. Endurance sports are all about getting to where you're going on your own two feet - but not sans support, encouragement, and camaraderie of every soul on every mile.
I was initially cajoled into joining the UC Davis Triathlon team by a friend, who happened to be one of the club co-founders. Our conversation:
(me) - I don't know how to swim!
(him) - that's okay, you can hang on the edge of the pool for the 10 minute time limit.
(me) - I don't have a bike!
(him) - that's okay, you can borrow one.
(me) - I haven't run further than the sofa to the vending machines!
(him) - that's okay, you can walk if you want :D
...so, I went from being a newbie to completing a half ironman, with so much more in between. Now I can say that if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously.
I was initially cajoled into joining the UC Davis Triathlon team by a friend, who happened to be one of the club co-founders. Our conversation:
(me) - I don't know how to swim!
(him) - that's okay, you can hang on the edge of the pool for the 10 minute time limit.
(me) - I don't have a bike!
(him) - that's okay, you can borrow one.
(me) - I haven't run further than the sofa to the vending machines!
(him) - that's okay, you can walk if you want :D
...so, I went from being a newbie to completing a half ironman, with so much more in between. Now I can say that if I can do it, anyone can. Seriously.
Along the way, I volunteered as a guide for a blind athlete. She wanted to train for a duathlon (bike and run). I was the first one to receive training. She showed me how to stop, step up/down, accelerate/decelerate, turn, and change directions. She assured me that falling was inevitable, but I'm very proud to say that we never fell! I guided our physical presence, she guided our non-visual presence, responding instantaneously to my unconscious signals.
I thought a track would offer safe and open conditions, as compared to street running (hazardous to any runner.) She agreed, and suggested we use a tether to maintain our connection but enable her freedom from my side. "...but I hate this tether," she confided to me. "I feel like I'm out in space." She handed it to me - two shoelaces tied together at both ends. We used it for a couple of track practices, but only long enough for me to gather design information. What specifications were needed for her to feel comfortable running with a tether? I gathered experimental data during our work-outs, then headed to the hardware store. Two types of material and some really nice hardware guys who used a flamethrower for me, and I had a prototype to test.
She loved it. "This is the first time and longest distance that I've run with a tether." ¡Success!
I thought a track would offer safe and open conditions, as compared to street running (hazardous to any runner.) She agreed, and suggested we use a tether to maintain our connection but enable her freedom from my side. "...but I hate this tether," she confided to me. "I feel like I'm out in space." She handed it to me - two shoelaces tied together at both ends. We used it for a couple of track practices, but only long enough for me to gather design information. What specifications were needed for her to feel comfortable running with a tether? I gathered experimental data during our work-outs, then headed to the hardware store. Two types of material and some really nice hardware guys who used a flamethrower for me, and I had a prototype to test.
She loved it. "This is the first time and longest distance that I've run with a tether." ¡Success!