Runner Life

My First Triathlon

Laura, Sara and Marina just arrived on Windsor.

I recently moved to Cambridge from London. I didn’t know any people or friends there. A random day I was on Facebook which is something not very common and I saw a post in a Cambridge group.

Facebook group

A girl wrote a post telling everyone that they were a group of two girls, and they will do a triathlon, but they needed one more person because the triathlon was a team challenge with three people and they don’t mind if the person was new doing triathlons or if they have experience.

I remember when I saw the post, I would love to do it, but I was sure another person had already contacted them and they had more experience and surely, they would be better. Besides I didn’t have the right bike to do it. I had a mountain bike where I used to live in Spain, which is very good, but I couldn’t use it a lot. And I had another bike in Cambridge which I bought a year ago, to use in London to go to my job, or go for shopping and I used it like everyday transport.

So sure, not having a road bike would be a problem to do the triathlon. Even though I had a lot of aspects against me I decided to reply to the post and spoke with the girl.

To my surprise, the girls were very friendly and excited. I told her about my problem with the bike and if maybe the triathlon organization could lend bikes for some cost during the day.

She told me that she didn’t think so. So, I thought it would be not possible to do it but at least I started to know someone who did sport like me in Cambridge and I started to ask about a Triathlon group in Cambridge and about her and her friend.

We finished the conversation and a few days later she wrote to me again. She told me in the race it could be possible to share the bike between members of the same group and it would solve the problem.

Of course, I accepted, and we created a WhatsApp group where we started to talk about the race, to buy the race number, and the logistics to go there…

Turbulence

I was very enthusiastic about my first triathlon, I was always dreaming to do it, and there were ones where I was very close however I couldn’t. I paid the inscription and I had everything ready; my short wetsuit because it was summer and my mountain bike by reason, they let you do it with these types of bike too.

Nevertheless, I was in my parent’s house and accidently I burned my hand. It was very painful. I didn’t go to the hospital this day, but I had to do it. I went one day later because the pain was awful.

Of course, I could not do the race, because I could not do the swimming part in the lake with my burnt hand.

Anyway, I was looking at the website where the girls had the race information and I looked at the day and the time. I knew before because the girl had put it in the post, and I knew I had to work this day, but I always worked in the evening.

Except this day.

I didn’t know what I could do. I had said yes already to the girls, and I could not say I cannot go to work, because I said I could work too.

I thought if I tell the girls it would be bad… and maybe they wouldn’t meet with me again to train or something. Also, I wanted to do the triathlon race. The only option that I had, was to try to explain the situation to my boss and hope she understood it.

Fortunately, my boss understood the situation and I didn’t have any problem with my availability.

Small world

One of the three tests was swimming and it was in a lake. At this time, we were in September and even in England the weather still warm, but the water was not the same. So, I was a little bit scared about being frozen in the water and not being able to swim, moreover, I had spent long time without practicing swimming, and I was very sensitive to the cold temperature. I thought the best solution would be to go to Decathlon in Cambridge and buy a wetsuit to protect me from the cold water in the lake.

What a surprise; in the same place where I went to buy my wetsuit, I found one of the girl’s boyfriends. I had asked a salesman about a wetsuit for a lake and he asked his colleague. I started to talk with him and suddenly he asked me if I was Sara. He knew the Facebook history, so he guessed I was the girl.

Pre – race

Tri Challenge Team Triathlon 2019 is a triathlon for teams. The team could choose if they wanted to do one different sport per person or the three sports the three group components. They wanted to do all the sports instead one sport per person which there was the other option to do it. Honestly it was good for me because I preferred to do everything too and experiment with the triathlon. In this way I would have my first whole experience and I would be better for the next one.

We had never met each other, and had I never tried the race bike before, so we met two days before the race to try the bike and see if I was comfortable using the shoes for the bike. Also, we didn’t know which girl’s bike fitted me better. When I finished my work, I went to their house and honestly, I didn’t expect them to be so friendly. I know when you are in the groups and talk with a lot of people you are an outgoing person. But they offered me their bike without knowing me. They invited to their house. In this moment I realized I had found some very wonderful people.

I shared the bike with Laura, her bike fitted me better and because of that I had to be first one or last one, and we decided finally I was the first do it each sport.

We woke up this morning very early. We went from Cambridge to Windsor. The race was in Dorney Lake and we had to be ready before time to prepare the bikes in their correct places and the bags with the different stuff that we needed. We went by Laura’s car and we had enough time to catch up a little bit about ourselves. We spent approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes travelling there.

We arrived with time to talk with the organisers and they gave us the race number race and the swimming cap. There was an area exclusive to the triathletes where we could be and leave the bikes, So, with the race numbers we could enter and choose the place for the bikes and the bags. We had a table with water, other sports drinks and we had some cereal bars and jelly which we could take, drink and eat if we wanted.

3-2-1 Go! The Race

I was not ready, I know we arrived with time, but after that the time flew and then we noticed it was the time to start the race. The first test was swimming in a lake. I put my wetsuit very fast and it was okay. The first people in the group to do the test had to be close to the lake until the organisation notified us of the start. 3-2-1 go!

I remember being a little bit scared. Swimming is easy. I used to swim since I was three years old. But the freezing water scared me more than anything. My feet touched the water. Wow, the water wasn’t like I expected. It was not warm but maybe it was alright. I started to swim, the water fortunately was good, there wasn’t any problem with the temperature. Let’s remember I wore a wetsuit on my body to protect me.

I moved my legs and my arms fast; my goggles weren’t very good, and I couldn’t see anything under the water and also outside. I tried to see and felt the people swimming close to me, so I went in the same direction as everybody.

I started to feel bad, really bad. What was happening? I didn’t realise what was wrong, but I was drowning. I felt my neck very tight and, in this moment, I tried to make the wetsuit fit me better. Organisation people in the water with kayaks asked me if I needed help and if everything was alright. I said yes. I could do it alone. I needed to do it. With my wetsuit less tight I felt better and I continued swimming in the lake, I still couldn’t see anything but there were still people between me, and this helped me to go with them and I finished the first part of the test.

I got out of the water and my legs were shaking; it was hard to my feet were walking like usual. I was frozen. I said sorry to my friends because I felt I was very slow with all the inconvenience and I wanted to be faster.

Marina did the test and after that Laura did it. They looked good. After Laura, I had to be ready again to the next test; the bike. I had time to be a little bit warmer and I put on a thermal shirt which helped me.

Laura finished and I started to run towards the bike. I went in the bike I ran on it. I moved my legs, but they weren’t very fast because I was I little scared about the route. After 1 minute I was better and more confident, and I moved my legs faster. It was good, I really liked it. The bike was good, was light. The feeling was amazing. I never had this feeling, but I didn’t want to finish the route. I remember talking with the girls, and I thought the route was 2 laps. I did one, the second one I wanted to go faster, I knew the route already so I could be better on the second lap. I finished but I wanted to do more.

I left the bike and Marina went with her bike to start the test.

When I met with Laura to wait for her turn, we could speak. She told me the bike test was three laps instead two. OMG! I wanted to do more! And I did the test wrong… I hoped the organisation didn’t penalise us because of me.

Marina finished and then Laura was going with the bike. The three of us loved the bike part, the ground was very flat and easy to go fast with the bike.

When Laura was finished, I was waiting to start the last test from the race. My favourite part, running.

I wasn’t tired and we started the test with a little sun, but it wasn’t very warm, but at this time the weather had changed, and I was warmer, and it was very nice for me. I took off my thermal shirt and I ran only with my short tri suit. I was running and I felt very good. I passed some girls in the start and also some boys finishing the lap. It was only 5 km. Two laps and I wanted to run more but I knew I was faster than I usually am when I train so I was happy.

I saw Marina and I ran toward her to give her the bracelet. Which in each test we have to give to our teammate and it recorded the time.

Marina ran and Laura ran after her. When she was finishing, we went toward her, and we ran all together the last metres. We held our hands and we crossed the finish line together.

We were very happy because it was a different experience. But we all wanted to be better the next time and improve.

Fortunately, my boyfriend arrived just on time to see us cross the finish line. He could cheer and took some pictures of us.

We finished the Triathlon Tri Challenge Team.

Half Marathon Sevilla Review

A weekend more than amazing.

The company was a pleasure. When you decide to run a race sometimes the least important thing is the race. It doesn’t seem like it, but it is.

The Challenge

I have a challenge; I want to do the best 5 half marathons in Spain in a year and to join in a National Banana Running League of the Canary Islands. It is a new League from this year where you have to finish five half marathons around Spain. These are; Seville in January, Barcelona in February, Madrid in April, Valencia in October and San Sebastian in November. The latter is not a half marathon because you only have to complete 20 km instead of 21 km, but it has similar characteristics to a half marathon and honestly it is an incredible race.

I already did the Seville half marathon this weekend. I would like to speak about my experience in this race, the route, the environment, the organisation, the weather and the city.

Firstly, as I said already in the first paragraph, my experience was really good, and I enjoyed myself a lot. I have a little experience doing half marathons, but of course I am not an expert. On this occasion it was my first time doing the race with more people who I know and going together on a trip to another part of the world.

We are Spanish people living in a city in England called Cambridge. Also, we went with my boyfriend who is English, and he is not a runner, but he is a very, very big support.

‘Tapas’

We arrived on Saturday morning from Stansted Airport to Seville. Our flight was at 7.00 in the morning and we arrived in Seville around 11.00. a.m. So, we decided to go somewhere close to the Airbnb, to walk and find a place where we could eat brunch. We were walking and taking pictures in ‘Plaza de España’. We asked about a nice place to eat Seville’s famous food. It is very common eat ‘tapas’ there.

We ended up in a pub that a local recommended to us. We ate Spanish tortilla, croquetas, ratatouille with egg, and spinach with eggs. It was good food, but on the other hand, we couldn’t pay with card, so we have to go to the bank for cash. Also the toilets were a little old and they didn’t have soap to wash your hands. After that we found a cafe a few metres further down the road. We ordered some drinks and we took advantage by relaxing and keeping warm because it was raining outside.

Airbnb in Seville

We have a little problem with our Airbnb. We booked the first one two months in advance. When we asked the landlord if they would have towels in the house or if we needed bring them, he told us that he didn’t have the house for rent and he sold the house already. So, we could not be in the house.

Quickly we tried to look for another house. But the next house told us they were already occupied. The last house told us that we needed to enter at 3.00 pm and we asked if we could leave the house later on Sunday because 5 people had to have a shower after the race, and we wouldn’t have a lot of time. They told us it was not possible. But when we arrived at the house at 3.00 pm the cleaner was cleaning the house and it was very messy. All the other guest’s stuff was still in the house. Okay, enough with the Airbnb problems! We went to the Sport Center to collect the race number.

We used Uber to move in the city. We were six people, so we needed a minivan. It was very good and quick, and we didn’t need pay a lot of money for it.

Collecting the race number

In the Sport Center, we found different stands where we could collect the race number, take pictures, buy sports shoes or other sport stuff. Also, there were people asking your details to win other races, and others where you could win a beer or try sports shoes. It was good to have so many things to do instead of just one place to collect the number. However, it was not as big as other places that I have been to when collecting the race number.

We were there at about 6.00 pm because before that, we went to Mercadona (shopping center) to buy some food for breakfast and to take some food to England with us. So, the Sport Center was not very busy and they were closing at 8.00 pm. The only problem with that was that we couldn’t get our sized t-shirt. There were some men without XL size and some women like us without size S.

Fortunately they had XS size and it worked for us too. But if not, you had to wait in a long queue where someone took your details to send you a correct size to your address.

Around Seville and more ‘tapas’.

After that we had some free time, so we went to see a little bit of the centre of Seville.

We were walking in the centre and we found a procession which was practice for Easter.

There were many people playing instruments and some people under the religious float carrying it along the street.

We went to have a dinner in a restaurant that a housemate recommended to me. It was called ‘Alvaro Peregil’.

We ordered Spanish tortilla, chips with eggs, artichokes, sardines and shrimp tortilla. The food was not bad, but the Spanish tortilla was very hard because it seemed like it was made a long time ago. The rest of the food was fine.

The price was okay, but we are used to buying food in England where the price is higher than Spain, so that’s why we thought the price was not bad. Although my mom said, when they visited Seville the prices in the centre were a little bit higher than other areas in Seville.

The time was getting late and we needed to rest for the big day.

We took another Uber and we went to the Airbnb, where fortunately everything was clean, and we didn’t have other people’s stuff in the house anymore.

We could have a warm shower and go to the bed.

Excited morning

My friends woke up around 6.00 am to have breakfast and get ready for the race. But it wasn’t my case. I do not have breakfast before the race, never. It is something that I always do. I do not care about the distance or other things, my body does not need it and if I eat something it can be a problem. I feel heavier, I cannot run the same way.

So, the good part is that I can be more time in bed. I woke up at 7.30 am and I got ready.

It is 8.00 in morning. The race started at 9.00. We had an hour to get there.

Are we ready?

The weather

The weather wasn’t like we expected it to be Seville. As everybody knows, Seville is famous for being very hot, and although it was the end of January, honestly I looked forward to sun and warm temperature… but on Saturday was a little cold and it was raining for a little bit of part of the day. It wasn’t very hard or a lot of water, but it was still raining. And on Sunday morning was foggy.

On the other hand, when we finished the race, it was sunny and when we had to take the Uber to go to the Airport was very sunny and lovely. But like always…we had to leave.

The race

We went to the race start. We were waiting in the toilet queue and we took some pictures for memories to remember the race and the feelings. We did some stretching and we ran a little bit to warm up.

I was passing people, trying to go ahead but sometimes was hard because there was not enough space. I did not like the feeling. My first 3 km were like that all the time. I saw the 2 hour balloon runner. I was happy because my time was not bad, but I did not know what my time is because I did not want to look my watch. I only looked and saw the km, but I could not see my time. I did not want to feel pressure because I was slower than I wanted, and I prefer to run based on my feelings.

All of us except one friend were going in the same starting group. So, he went ahead of us. We went to our starting point and we were talking and trying not to be too nervous.

The race started and I saw a lot of people around me and I felt I couldn’t run like I wanted to run. I tried to pass the people and I looked back and my friends were far from me, so I told them ‘bye’ and I continued trying to pass more people.

During the race I felt like I was slow, I was passing people, but I felt I was running slowly.

The circuit is very easy because it is flat.

In the first 5km water station, we didn’t have any water because the volunteers didn’t have enough time to fill the glasses. Other volunteers ahead are giving bottles of water. But they gave the bottle with the bottle caps still on. The runners threw the caps on the floor and some threw the closed bottles. These two things are very dangerous to the other runners because they can slide on the caps or they can be hurt with one full water bottle.

The following water stations were better. But I decided not to drink water because it looked very slow with too many people, I would have had to wait and stop, and it is not good for my speed. I still felt like there were too many people in the race.

I felt good, it was 13km, but I decided to take some jelly, just in case would be worse later and to have some energy extra. Anyway, I only took two sips because I did not have any water and I did not want to be bad with the jelly without water. But it was okay. I felt good and now I had some sugar. At the 15km water station, I took one water bottle and I drank some water to take away the jelly flavour from my mouth.

I always think, if you pass the 15km, the race is done, you only have to do 6 more, about 30 min more, like 10 songs more, like 5 laps in the park where I used to go and run where I was living in Spain. But sometimes these 6km are bad. I remember my first half marathon. As I was arriving I couldn’t run more, but I couldn’t stop, not now. In this moment, you think about the people outside watching you, about the people that aren’t there, your friends, your family, your training…while you are thinking the kilometres are passing, and when you don’t realise you only have 3km left. The applause from the people, the cheers, ovations, help a lot you to arrive at the finish with a very big smile.

And then you finish.

And the best thing in the races, is not when you finish, is the way, each 21.0975 km or which is the same; 13 mi 192½ yd.

We finished

The big difference to running alone or with more people, is when you finish, you are happy or less happy because of your race, your feelings… but when you run with a group, you think about more people, how the race would be the race for them, would they be okay? You want to know more about the others than about your experience in the race.

We all finished the race, we liked it, and each person had their own experiences that we shared during the way home.

By the way, do you remember my challenge? To run the 5 half marathons in a year. Well, you need the little coin which they give you in a plastic bag with the medal. I am used to finishing and the volunteers putting on the medal on your neck. So, it was a little weird for me that they gave you a little bag. But I thought maybe it was because there were a lot of people. And I saw some volunteers putting the medal on others runners so, I didn’t give a lot of importance to the little bag. I didn’t realise there was a coin inside… This coin is part of the big medal that they will give you when you will finish all the races. And yes, I accidentally threw it away. Oops.

We had to go very quickly to the Airbnb and to have a shower, to tidy a little bit and to go for our recovery.

Recovery with the final meal in Seville

We asked a neighbour who was walking in the area, where was a nice place to eat a lunch. They gave us the advice about some restaurants, and we went for it.

Also, we had a bag with food from the race and from the shopping that we did the first day, which we couldn’t eat, and we couldn’t take with us because we were flying and some things you cannot take in the airport.

So, we looked for a place where we could leave the bag with food. It was bad because there weren’t a lot of places to leave it. We left the bag next to a place for clothes and other things to sell for other countries with less resources.

We found a restaurant where we had plenty of space to sit down and ate relaxing.

We ordered two plates to share and one big for each other.

It was natural tomato with tuna and mushroom with cream and I ordered scrambled egg with asparagus. Another of my friends ordered potatoes, meat and seafood paella. All the food was very nice, and homemade, it reminded me of my mum’s food.

Time to leave and results

We took the Uber to the Airport and we were waiting a little bit in there. Enough time to see and share the results

I did my best time in a half marathon, which is not very, very good, but I am happy improving. And anyway, I enjoy running and I do not care about the time. But of course, if it is better, I really like it.

The scariest part for me is the recovery, I am scared if I feel some pain in some place in my body and I cannot train like always. And I have to stop or reduce the training.

Or worse, I cannot prepare or go to the next race.

In my running life I have learnt a lot about injuries, and it is the worst part for a runner.

Fortunately, it looks like I do not have any pain and the recovery was very good. I didn’t feel bad or tired legs or other part in my body. So, I am very happy about that.

The best and the worse part from the Seville half marathon

Things to improve.

· Too many people, not too many volunteers or people working.

· More correct sizes for the t-shirt.

· More people in the water stations.

· More organisation at the finish, because the people were finishing and stopping, and you had to continue walking because, if not, there were a lot of people behind you, and also after 2 hours running you cannot stop suddenly.

· I would give a bag at the finish, because we could not carry the water, the banana, the cereal bar, the medal, everything in our hands.

· It is not a race with a lot of people cheering.· This was the first time for this race with this number of runners and maybe they were not be very prepared for this number of runners.

The best from Half Marathon Seville.

· Of course, the area where you are running, even if the weather is not a sunny, it is very nice to run in this city around the monuments and sights.

· The route. It is very flat, and it makes you run faster or feel less tired. So, you can do your best time in this race.

· Wonderful city to visit, run and eat.

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