“You forgot somebody!”
Those were the first words I heard as I pulled into the transition area at the South Atlantic Bank Beach Bum Triathlon last month. I had just finished biking on the beach and was about to begin my 5k beach run.
I was hoping for cheers and adulation. What I got was a smart aleck comment about the empty kiddie seat behind me.
In looking at the pictures, I see why the man thought it was humorous.
I began training for a triathlon in April, with the hopes of running a short one during the summer and hopefully progressing to an Olympic distance in late fall.
I got so much harassment from my coworkers that I thought my best bet would be to run the first one without telling anyone. (My wife unknowingly let the cat out of the bag at a graduation party, so it would not have mattered.)
Unfortunately, finding a triathlon is difficult and since I do not run races on a Sunday, it is even more difficult.
I was looking online for a group to run with while I was vacationing in Hilton Head. I noticed the usual Saturday morning group was not running together because of a triathlon.
The distances were short — a half-mile swim, six-mile bike and 3.1-mile run — but the swim was in the open water of the Atlantic Ocean and the bike and run were on the sand.
Besides, it was nicknamed “the run for the coconut monkey.” With a prize like this, I was in. I made this my goal.
As an avid runner, I knew I had that part.
I got up early, before 4 most days, to bike. My wife complained that I was exhausted long before bed time.
I trained for the swim in the Marysville pool and the Deer Creek Lake. Training in the lake caused other marital issues as apparently when I emerged each evening, I smelled exactly like I had been swimming in an algae and goose poop filled pond.
I wouldn’t be able to take my own bike with me, but Hilton Head is a biking community. I knew I would be renting a bike for the week anyway so it wasn’t a big deal.
Several times before I left for vacation I did all three disciplines as if I were running the actual event.
I was as ready as I was going to be… And then I saw the bike.
Because I was on vacation with my family, I needed a kiddie seat on the back. Because they don’t put kiddie seats on men’s bikes, I had a woman’s bike. Because I am large, even for most men, the bike seemed very small.
Additionally, the bike had a basket on the front.
A co-worker who runs triathlons told me to make sure I ate right in the week leading up to the race. On vacation, I ate a lot of rice or turkey sandwiches and pizza.
He told me to get plenty of rest and take it easy. With three sons on vacation, there was no rest to be had.
I woke up early one morning and did the entire event as the sun was rising. The new light revealed a beach full of dead jellyfish. I was nervous.
On the Wednesday before the triathlon, I took my son with me and we ran a 5k to benefit sea turtles. I am not sure how the turtles planned to use the money. Anyway, by that point in the week, a stifling heat was paired with an almost swamp like humidity. I feared I was in trouble.
On the morning of the triathlon, I woke early and checked my phone. The weather app I use was crimson red, with an exclamation point. There were three severe weather alerts — a severe thunderstorm warning, a marine warning for rough water and a heat advisory.
The race was delayed about 45 minutes while the storm passed, and while that solved one warning, it pushed us deeper into the day’s heat.
Even so, I arrived early to rack my bike only to learn that with the kiddie seat and basket it didn’t fit on the rack. I told the competitors around me, not to fall in love with the kiddie seat behind me. Apparently, they listened as not only did no one steal my kiddie seat, they didn’t even want to have their bikes near mine.
In hindsight, I suppose I could have called to rent a different bike for race day.
In hindsight, I suppose I could have done a lot of things different. But that was the point, to learn… and to finish. I did both.
I did not bring home a coconut monkey, which as it turns out are not for finishers, but rather for winners.
I repeatedly said that since I did not really enjoy the training, I likely will not do another triathlon. And yet days after returning home, I was back in the water, just in case.