"The Man in the Mirror" is one of my favorite songs. Every time I hear it, I feel motivated to do better, to live the kind of life that I am proud to pass on to others. The song motivates me to volunteer more often, to donate things I do not need to others who may be going through a difficult time, to write letters to old friends and to call my brother, sister and grandparents more frequently.
It also motivates me to train harder, to be the athlete I know that I can be.
This past Saturday, I participated in my third sprint triathlon of the year (and also my third sprint triathlon ever - I am THAT new to the sport) - the Tarpon Springs Rotary Sprint Triathlon. My intent for this tri was to use it as practice - practice the swim and the transitions, mostly, because I thought that I was too slow in these two areas at the Top Gun tri in July.
I was nervous because 1) I still do not feel comfortable in the water, and 2) I still do not feel comfortable in the water. I arrived EARLY - so much so that I was able to park in the second row, did not have to wait to get my chip or to be body marked, and was the first to rack my bike on my designated rack.
After I was 100% positive that I had all of my gear, I used the restroom, double checked that I had my car keys, and headed back to the transition area to find Sherrie. On my way to her, I ran into Adam, Jamie and Tom - I felt much better knowing that I knew people racing!
I was in the last wave, so I cheered my friends on as they took off into the water. When it was my turn, I took my place on the outer edge and tried to calm myself down. I stuck to my plan - "just keep swimming," and after a couple of minutes I found a rhythm and when I looked up to sight the next buoy, I saw that I was actually passing people - in my own age group! Instead of getting excited, I focused on holding my form. I made the turn, and crossed the mat at 6:50 - not too bad! I ran to my bike, put my gear on and headed out to the bike course.
Once I got clipped in, I took off, careful not to run into anyone. I called out "ON YOUR LEFT" loudly and often, and focused on the road ahead of me. I calculated that I was probably averaging somewhere in the neighborhood of 19-20mph for most of the bike. I was ecstatic that I was having a good race so far. I was about 2 miles out from the transition area when a storm hit. We are talking a torrential downpour and high wind gusts. I had to slow down considerably, and while I was disappointed, I was also mindful that I did not want to crash and get injured. I finished the bike, unclipped and ran to my rack. It was raining so hard that I no longer needed my sunglasses, so I threw them into my helmet, emptied my shoes of water and headed out.
My legs felt tired, but nowhere near tired enough to slow me down much. I made sure to watch where I was going, and yelled out words of encouragement to others along the way. I fell in with a gentleman a few age groups above me, and managed to hold on and sprint through the finish. My run pace was 9:12/mile. WHAT?
I knew I had a good race, but I didn't know that I had cut so much time off of my last tri - 12 whole minutes, to be exact. When you look at my very first sprint tri time of 1:44 and some seconds, this is terrific progress. It hasn't come easy. I've been working hard to learn the sport, to learn to push myself just a little harder each day. I have quite a ways to go, but this race boosted my confidence tremendously.
I began this week excited to train, excited to forge ahead and blaze a path towards 140.6. I know that I will need an enormous amount of support to hear the words "Megan Supernovich, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN." I know that I will face adversity, extreme fatigue and some disheartening race performances.
More importantly, I KNOW that I can do it, and that ultimately, this journey begins with ME.
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,
Na Nah
And so I run.
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