The Beginning

 College years proved to be the beginning of many new things for me. I met so many wonderful people, did a lot of camping, and hiking, learned how to white water kayak, drove many, many miles back and forth from Tennessee to Maine, met the man of my life, and so much more. BUT, there was one thing I was determined not to do: the Cohutta Springs Triathlon. My Aunt Donna was one of the race organizers; she greatly encouraged me to do the triathlon. I refused my freshman year but then gave in my sophomore year.  I most certainly didn’t do the triathlon because I wanted too; I did it because I felt like I had too. After signing up for the race I was instructed to start “training”. What in the world did “training” mean? Did it mean swimming? I didn’t have a clue how to do the crawl; I didn’t own goggles or a swim cap. Did training mean biking? I didn’t own a road bike and didn’t have the money to buy a bike. Did training mean running? Well, that was the only thing I could do but only about 2 or 3 miles.

   In my younger years my family and I were always active, I knew how to swim (not laps), I knew how to bike up and down the road, and I knew how to run away from my brother but I never contemplated combing all three events. Who in their right mind would want to even do such a thing? It didn’t interest me in the least!!!

   The Cohutta Springs Triathlon was/is .5 mile swim, 18 mile bike and a 4 mile run. After signing up for the race I spent many sleepless/restless nights thinking about how I was going to make a complete idiot of myself on race day. I couldn’t even swim across the pool!!! I was sick over it.

  I will never forget the first time I went to the pool to swim. The pool looked so big and intimidating. Everyone was swimming like a pro and had on goggles, cool swimsuits and caps. I, on the other hand, had no goggles, no cap and was wearing a very stretched out, transparent swimsuit. My beach towel remained tight around my body until I was at the very edge of the pool. I quickly dropped the towel and jumped in the pool. Thank goodness my cousin (who had been a competitive swimmer for years) was there to give me a jump start. She showed me how to do the crawl and she encouraged me a lot. That first pass across the pool will forever stay engraved in my brain. Let’s just say I didn’t look like all the other swimmers. I didn’t blend in at all. In fact I stuck out like a sore thumb. I couldn’t even do the crawl for more than ½ a length.

 My aunt let me borrow one of her road bikes which was fantastic. It was an older bike with the shifters on the frame. My first several rides out were spent simply trying to figure out how to shift the thing. I bonded with that bike in a very short amount of time. Most of my rides were solo and went smoothly. I wasn’t very fast and had so much to learn but I really enjoyed biking.

  Running was the only thing I had been doing for awhile but I hadn’t run any more than 2 or 3 miles. I wasn’t a strong runner and it’s still a survival thing for me but it makes me feel super when I’m finished.

  The day of the triathlon came and my nerves where out of this world. I felt like I was in a dream…just wasn’t sure yet whether it was a good dream or a bad dream. I will never forget sitting in the water getting ready to swim out to the first buoy. I was shaking with fear and anticipation. The gun went off and I was stuck in a pack of flying hands and smacking feet. I survived the swim mostly doing crawl. Several minutes into the swim I finally calmed down and just started to soak in the experience.  The bike was slow but smooth and the run was pretty good. Every mile I went the more I started to realize that this triathlon stuff is actually fun. When I crossed the finish line I was addicted.  But there was yet another experience that really made me determined to continue in the sport and see how well I could improve.

  The experience happened several days after the triathlon. I was in the guy’s dorm at Southern and met up with some friends. One of them asked me how the tri went. They then asked if I placed and I had in fact placed first in my age category (surprisingly). They then went on to remark that I placed probably ONLY because I was the only one in my age category. They went on to imply that I wasn’t capable of doing well and there must have been a catch. This bothered me so much especially since this individual and their siblings had consistently put me down for years. Honestly I started to believe their comments. I decided that I had to do the Cohutta Springs triathlon again and was able to finish first in my age category and third overall female. The race has gotten a lot more competitive since I did it way back when, so my times aren’t very impressive but it is a confidence booster when you place. After my second year of doing the triathlon I started to fall in love with the sport and wasn’t driven to do it to prove anything to anyone. Now triathlon is actually part of my lifestyle. Being involved with the sport motivates me each morning to exercise. Triathlons give my training direction and meaning. I am not a pro and never will be; I’m not fast and never will be but I love the sport and enjoy the whole experience.

  As for my friend and I…I cannot lie, I still have hurt feelings not just from the triathlon comment but others too. That’s what life is about though. We all go through tough experiences. What matters is whether or not you come out of the experience a stronger, better person. If it wasn’t for my Aunt’s persistent encouragement (she is the best, I love you Aunt Donna) and for my friends sneering remark I might not have ever discovered my love for the triathlon sport. I would have missed out on something amazing.

I will forever thank my Aunt Donna for encouraging me to try the Cohutta Springs Triathlon. She knew I would enjoy it. The Cohutta Springs Triathlon is a great triathlon. It is well run, well marked and full of helpful volunteers. I highly recommend it.

Race website: http://www.southerntriathlon.com/event.htm

Smiles