Starting out...

Yesterday I worked as a volunteer at the Nautica South Beach Triathlon.  My job was to follow the very last swimmer of the Olympic race through the water effectively 'closing' the course behind me. 

As a lifelong swimmer, I am usually at the front of the swim pack during a race trying to gain whatever minuscule lead that I can before hopping on the bike. I have never seen, or even been aware of what goes on behind me. Yesterday, however, I got a glimpse into the struggle, both mental and physical, that some triathlon newbies face. It was a very unique and thought-provoking experience that I would like to share with you as I offer a few words of wisdom for those contemplating a triathlon.

The race director told me the day before that my job was to pick out the last swimmer and follow close behind them.  Sometimes, he told me, the last swimmer has to drop out of the race. In this case, I would have to sprint ahead to the person in front of them who had now become the 'last swimmer'. 

Exhausted at the finish line of my very first Tri

As the last wave (a group of purple-capped women) entered the unusually warm water at around 7am, I shuffled sleepy-eyed behind them.   Just as the water level reached my navel, one woman about 5 feet in front of me, stood up and screamed "I can't do this. I'm too scared." Another woman, her friend, shaking next to her, tried to offer words of motivation before sprinting up ahead a couple strokes. 

I too screamed out to the woman, "You came all this way...you can do this!"  

"I can't" she replied as she turned around and walked back into shore, "I'm too scared."  

And just like that, still being able to touch the ground beneath me, the first woman dropped out of the race. 

Her friend who had sprinted ahead wasn't very long behind...it was only about 20 yards from shore that I heard her scream "I think I saw something!" before grabbing onto the paddle-boarding lifeguard  and being pulled back to shore. 

After reflecting upon the situation let me offer my first words of wisdom.  Before you sign up for a Triathlon...

Make sure that you're NOT AFRAID of the water!

These women paid hundreds of dollars to be here and their fear overcame them before the race even began. Don't let yourself be that person. If you're afraid of the water, then maybe a triathlon just isn't for you.  Stick to marathons. 

After those women pulled out, I sprinted up ahead to find another women bobbing up and down treading water with her goggles off about 50y into the race. I stayed near her for a few minutes with another paddle-boarding lifeguard a couple of feet away. The woman just sat there, staring down the swim course, not moving. She eventually put her goggles back on, took two freestyle strokes, and then stopped again to pull off her goggles and tread water some more. The lifeguard and I exchanged worried glances. Both of us knew there was no way she would be able to swim the entire mile when she could barely swim. My biggest fear was that I would stay behind with somebody so long, that if they dropped out of the race I'd be too far back to catch the next swimmer. So, the lifeguard told me that he'd stay with her so I could sprint up ahead to follow the next swimmers.  I put my goggles back on and sprinted off into the distance, stopping every once in a while to look behind me to see if she had given up yet. 

I felt bad as I sprinted ahead.  Although I knew deep down that she wouldn't make it, I felt guilty leaving her expecting that she'd have to drop out. But there was nothing that I could do for the woman because she just couldn't swim. 

So that brings me to my second words of wisdom.  If you're going to do a triathlon...

Make sure that you KNOW HOW to swim!

(And I'm not talking about being able to swim a couple slow 25s in a pool...you need to be able to swim multiple lengths without resting at the walls.  Be honest with yourself. If you really can't swim, you can't do a triathlon.)

I caught the next two swimmers about 1/3 of the way into the race. One woman was swimming with her head above water.  I heard her yell out to the lifeguard "I know it's slow...but hey, it works!" Another woman swam beside her in a wet suit. She looked like she was swimming freestyle but was bobbing up and down so much that she was barely moving forward.  I had found my last two swimmers. These woman may not have been moving fast...but they were moving. I had no doubt that they'd at least be able to finish. 

I chatted with the lifeguard next to me for a while who had commented on what a good swimmer I was because he had seen me sprinting up from behind.  The two of us frequently looked behind us to see if that other woman had given up yet. "I don't know why people sign up for these if they can't swim...you did the right thing," he told me. "She's never going to make it."  I'm not sure when that last woman finally gave up but in her defense, she kept struggling for a long while. This wasn't a matter of not being mentally tough enough.

Everything was going fine until just before the half-way mark the two women caught up and passed a man kicking on his back. He was swimming in the wrong direction. The lifeguard yelled at him. The man tried to correct himself but he somehow turned and swam in a mini-circle.  "The next buoy is THAT WAY!" I yelled. He once again tried to correct himself but failed before reaching out to grab onto the paddle board (note; in triathlons you're allowed to grab onto the board to float but you cannot pull yourself up onto it or you're disqualified).

Bounding across the finish line later in the same summer

"How many more buoys do I have left?" the man asked the lifeguard. "You've come about half-way the lifeguard replied."  You could see the horror in the man's face as he stared down the remaining length of the swim.  I stayed there for a while, just watching those other two women swim off into the distance. They were getting almost too far away.  If this man gave up, I might not be able to catch those next two women. I had to make a decision...

Did I have faith in this man that he would be mentally and physically strong enough to carry on, or would I give up on him?  I gave up on him. I left him to fail as I sprinted up ahead and I felt terrible about it. But after the life guard told him he was only half-way, I could see the mental break in his facial expression. He had given up on himself so I made the decision to give up on him too. 

This leads me to my third words of wisdom. Before you sign up for a triathlon... 

make sure that you can swim the ENTIRE length of the swim course. 

(Test yourself and swim the entire length of the race prior to race day. If you can't make the distance without stopping, don't do the race.)

I couldn't help but think that had this man signed up for the shorter race distance (with a swim half as long as the Olympic), he would have been able to complete the rest of the triathlon. 

So, my final words of wisdom are...

START SMALL!

Triathlons are about pushing yourself to new levels.  But, make sure, prior to race day, that you are physically capable to reaching those levels. Triathlons are hard. I know, I still remember my first race  (a sprint triathlon) where I barely stumbled across the finish line...AND I"M A LIFE-LONG ATHLETE!!! 

There is no shame in beginning your triathlon career with a Sprint race.  By starting with shorter races, you will gain invaluable knowledge and experience that will give you motivation and will guide you once you are ready for longer races. Don't over-estimate your abilities...just because you're capable of doing all three sports individually doesn't mean that you know what to expect when you have to put them all together!

Oh, and wondering what happened with the race? I caught up to those two ladies and followed them into shore. My job was done and that's the last I saw of them...