Before moving to Austin, I had participated in a handful of 5k's, a 10k and a half marathon. I always played sports growing up and loved being on an athletic team. And, of course, being from the Pacific Northwest, I was hiking mountains with my family before I could even walk. But Austin has a different athleticism to it. I feel like many people here are race-obssessed and I can't deny that I've been caught up in the thick of it. Most recently, I have been turned on to the idea of triathlons. I'm a confident cyclist and consistent runner, but not being much of a swimmer (the water is just too cold in Washington!), I was hesitant about the swim portion of a triathlon.
One night, on a whim, I decided to sign up for my first triathlon. The race was scheduled for 5 days after I signed up. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the smartest of ideas, but I had fun with it anyway. I set out to work on my swim with a borrowed pair of goggles and a friend who swam competitively in school. After having swum a few times in our tiny (8 yard-long) apartment pool, I thought I was doing pretty well for a beginner and went to a lake with my friend in order to show her what I could do and get some tips.
Well, let me tell you: swimming in open water is NOT the same as swimming in a pool. It's darker, harder, scarier and ultimately, way more fun! My friend gave me a barrage of tips to remember for my first timed swim... face up, hands closed, abs clenched, feet kicking, breathe to both sides, don't take in too much air, breathe out bubbles underwater, and on... and on.... Luckily, during the race I was preoccupied enough with trying to remember all these things that I wasn't at all nervous or intimidated by the course. I finished the triathlon in much better time than anticipated and enjoyed it so much that I signed up for another!
This time, I made the wise decision of actually training. I chose a race that was about a month later, giving me enough time to work on my swimming skills and still get in both long rides and runs. Every other morning you can find me at the pool thinking to myself "one, two, three... breathe... one, two, three... breathe..." as I clumsily make my way down the length of the pool. Slowly but surely, however, I have felt progress. I feel my strides becoming more relaxed, my breathing becoming normal, my body automatically remembering things like keeping my face at the right angle and keeping my abs tight to raise my legs. As my muscle memory grows and my confidence in the swim improves, I can't help but get excited for my next race.
It gives me reason to wake up early, reason to feel great all day long and something great to strive for. The excitement, satisfaction and hype (not to mention lots of bananas) after finishing a race is a ton of fun and can be addicting. It's something I look forward to during long or hard training sessions and, in my opinion, is totally worth it. Long story short: Austin is a great place to try racing. There are always notices for 5k's, 10k's, half and full marathons, triathlons, long cycling rides, adventure races and relays, mud races and trail runs. If you are already a competitor, I probably don't need to inform you of all these opportunities. But, if you've never run or swum or biked a race and are considering one... I would say now is the time! Austin is a very race friendly environment with relatively flat terrain, warm weather (albeit sometimes too warm...) and a passion for fitness. So get outside, give it a try and enjoy it!
