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Seriously Hooked...Again...

Friday, 06 September 2013 14:41

By Lisa Lendway

Sometime during my post-race endorphin high, I wrote to MTN to tell them I’d do a race report for the St. Croix Valley Sprint Triathlon.  I was feeling really good about my race and about the triathlon world in general.  I just wanted to tell everyone about it.  So along with a brief race report, I’m going to rant about the positivity of triathlon.  Here goes.

First, I should introduce myself.  You might recognize my last name, as I’m the older sister of the reigning age-group national champion, Heather Lendway.  And, as much as I’d love to be the overly proud older sister and brag about all of her accomplishments, I don’t think that’s what this is supposed to be

about.  But, I will say that she is one of the people who encouraged me to get back into triathlons after a 5-year hiatus.  In December and January when she started sending me the races she was doing, I thought, what the heck, I might as well sign up for a bunch of these, too.  By the end of the season, I will have done nine races, all sprints.  So, thanks for that, Heather.  How else can I describe myself?  I work as a statistician and am the mother of two daughters - 3 ½ and 1 (the 5-year hiatus makes sense, right?).  

Now, onto the race.  St. Croix wasn’t on my original race list.  The four-mile run seemed too long for a sprint and only a 10-mile bike?  Then, Jerry sent me a message encouraging me to do it.  And my dad (major triathlon fan) said I should do it so that he had something to do on Saturday morning (I’m not kidding).  Then, I looked at the course.  The bike course was slightly uphill on the way out and slightly downhill on the way back, which seemed fun.  The run was four miles but looked flat.  I was curious if my body could handle four miles when I only run about 3-4 miles per week.  In the end, my curiosity got the best of me.  I showed up in Hudson at 5:45 AM on Saturday and signed up.  

It was a beautiful morning, not too hot, no wind.  I don’t usually arrive to races this early, so it was a treat to get a spot on a good rack.  I set up my things, took my bike out for a spin, and did a short swim warm-up.  Before long, it was race time.  I swam without a wetsuit, even though the water was supposedly 76 degrees (not sure where they measured, but it was HOT in there, if you ask me).  The swim felt good.  I don’t kick much when I swim, so my legs were ready to work on the short bike ride.  It was a fun, fast bike.  The last few miles were spent going back and forth with a couple other racers, which motivated me to go even faster.  I had a quick transition and onto the run.  I was nervous about it, but felt really good.  I started out with a 16-year-old kid (Mitchell Clayton, I later learned).  Yep, he was exactly half my age.  I kept waiting for him to fly by, but we ended up running most of the four miles together.  At about mile 3 ½, when I was feeling a little tired, I said something like, “How about you to help me finish this?”  He replied with something like, “Ok.  You helped me get this far.”  Well, that gave me just the oomph I needed.  He finished just a bit ahead of me.  I ended up with my best run time per mile of the season and won the sprint course for females.  As a bonus, they were serving some really yummy food which I gladly ate!      

So, I was feeling especially happy after last Saturday’s race, but every race I’ve done this year has put me in a good mood.  Why do triathlons have that effect?  Well …  where else can you go at 5 AM (or maybe even 4 AM) and see so many people with smiles on their faces?  I always end up chatting with the racers around me.  It’s fun to learn their stories and what motivated them to race.  We help each other out and give words of encouragement.  Sometimes we even joke.  I’ve met some great people this way.  For example, at the Lake Minnetonka Tri, I racked my bike next to a really nice gentleman named Peter Lancaster.  We chitchatted a bit before the race and wished each other luck.  We even briefly chatted during a transition and congratulated each other afterwards.  Now I’ve seen him at almost every race I’ve done, and we cheer for each other when we see each other.  I was introduced to a friend of his, Linda Schievelbein, at the St. Paul Triathlon a couple weekends ago.  She said something like, “Are you that girl he always sees with the flower bike?!”  Ha, I had to laugh, that was me.  Now Linda and I cheer for each other, too.  I am also inspired by triathletes.  Did any of you read the article by Julia Lyng about her and her daughters doing a triathlon together?  I guess I found it especially inspirational since I have two daughters.  I’ve now met her and her daughters and we cheer for each other, too.  Speaking of daughters … triathlons also give me a way to show my daughters that athletics are fun.  They are my loyal training partners.  I have to squeeze in workouts whenever possible, so I do a lot of “Burley workouts.”  Nothing is more motivating than having your three-year-old yell, “Mommy, you’re so slow!  Bike faster!”  They are also my biggest fans, cheering for me at many of the races.  There is just so much positivity at triathlons.  I can’t help but leave them happier than I was when I arrived.  I could go on and on, but I think I’ll leave it at that.  So, here I am, feeling warm and fuzzy about triathlons and the people involved in them.  As much as I am a competitive person and love to win, I wouldn’t be doing triathlons if they weren’t fun.  Thanks to all of you who make triathlons so great.