Lanikai Triathlon

Sunday, April 17 was the 10th annual Lanikai Triathlon.  I competed in it.  Though, I suppose it's fair to say that what I did was not so much "competing" as it was "participating."  I didn't exactly give anyone a scare in terms of my competitive prowess.  Nonetheless, it was a fun time and I'm glad I did it.  There were about 360 people in the race and it was really well organized.  There was plenty of space for all the participants in the transition area and everyone was really nice and energetic.  The volunteers were amazing and helpful, so it was overall a great experience.

Setting up at 4:30am

You may notice that on the right side of my blog, I have checked off my "goals" list that I competed in a triathlon.  I discussed with someone yesterday, however, that I shouldn't be able to say I did a "real" triathlon because it was only a sprint triathlon.  Now, my achy legs and shoulders take exception to this remark, but I began to think: this person had a point.  On one hand, sure, I worked out for an hour and a half and I did, in fact, do three events - swim, bike, and run in succession.  On the other hand, it was a short distance and nowhere near the length of an Olympic distance.  So can I really mislead people by suggesting that I will be the next Ironman?

Getting Free Stuff

So my answer to the charge is first, feel free to compete in your own triathlon and then give me a call.  But my competitive nature really kicked in this weekend.  I showed up at 4:30am to set up my transition station and realized that I was grossly unprepared.  I mean sure, I trained for the first three weeks, but then everything went to shit.  I looked around and there were some seriously competitive people there.  Even then I figured I was athletic enough to hang in there.  Not so much.  At the end of the day, I felt like I accomplished something, but not what I wanted to accomplish; I wanted to be competitive.  I wanted the triathlon to be the culmination of months of hard work, commitment, and discipline.  I wanted to cross the finish line gasping for air because I pushed myself.  I didn't do that on Sunday.

Finish Line

So that raises the question: do I want to do another one?  I did have fun this weekend.  It was definitely a challenge and they gave out free stuff at the end! Who doesn't like free stuff?  Jamba Juice smoothie?  I'll have 6, please.  I think I do want to do another one.  The only concern I have, of course, is my ability to train for the next few months.  I am going to have the same challenges I had this time: visitors coming to Hawaii and going on a week-long golf trip with a bunch of old men who drink more in one sitting than I can usually drink in a weekend, and a week-long trip to Chicago.  At what point would I be able to sufficiently train so that I can be competitive the next time around.  I refuse to do another triathlon unless I can devote my full energy to the training.

For now, I am happy to say that I have done a Sprint Triathlon and I look forward to the next.