This is a picture of me taken at the end of my first Triathlon, Reebok's Women's Triathlon series, in Canton in 2003. I came in 5th in my age group and had I known how close to the top I was, I could have pushed it more to break the top 3, but I was just surfing it, like I do most races; doing it to finish and enjoy it as it happens. I trained by my own wits; no books, classes, clinics or anything. You see, I've always been active and love to be outside. This was just my first attempt at turning my love of moving outdoors into a strategic goal.
Since I was young, I can remember loving to run long distances. Mostly through the woods of the 50 acres my parents had when I was a child. From birth until I was 10 years old, I could often be found running through the woods, over the fields, catching coo on my neighbors, climbing trees to take pictures of far off mountains and sunsets, dragging toboggans and radio flyers up big hills to ride down them, riding my bike and wheeled tractor up and down the driveway. There was also a brook and pond on the property. The brook ran through the woods for a long distance, into and through the pond with a waterfall on the West side of the pond. I put waterfall in italics, as when I returned many years later to visit it, I realized it was less than 12" tall, but in my minds eye, as a child with an active imagination, it was a giant watery obstacle for homemade twig & leaf boats to navigate! The pond was just big enough for us to skate on and we didn't really swim in it. There was a pond in town that most folks went to when it got really hot. The pond had leeches and snapping turtles, but we loved it. Most seasons we'd run wild from property to property, from orchard to orchard and only come home at dark.
Once we got a bit older, bikes became the vehicle of freedom and could cover more ground than running. We'd also make up race courses and tag games on our bikes. When I moved from a rural town to the suburbs there were "bike paths" to ride around town. The paths consisted of raised sidewalks, conservation trails and intentionally neglected potholed ridden roads (the theory amongst the voting townies being that people would drive more slowly-- same idea behind not salting the roads). This was now the 70's and we were living in a town that shared a high school with the neighboring town. There was no public transportation between the towns, except for the twice daily school buses. So one had to become a good cyclist to bike the 6-7 Miles (depending on which route you took) to go early or stay late in the other town. As my older friends learned to drive and bought (or were given) cars, I'd sometimes "bum rides" from them on my bike. Yes, I'd hold onto the car, while sitting on my bike (no helmet) and be towed from my house in the center of one town to the HS in nearly the center of a the other town. The most direct route took us right by the Police Station. I never bothered to let go and ride past it, as they didn't seem to give hoot.
I only attended the public High school for one year and then I switched to a Prep School, also roughly 5-6 miles from home; however the kids who attended were from all over Eastern MA and there were borders from all over the country and world. The day students visited each other by train, hitching, biking and walking. Again, as we got our licenses and cars that changed, too. I remember riding my bike to Cambridge, Lexington, Newton and farther. These rides would be 10-15 Miles, one way.
My love of boats and water came early. I was 12 when I bought my first kayak. I was 17 when I moved on board the sailboat where I would live for three years (in Maine and in St. Croix--sailing between the two). I loved to swim my whole life: quarries, ponds, brooks, rivers, streams, reefs, walls, wharfs, oceans, seas, coves, diving, snorkeling, spearfishing, and set goals of natural points of interest with my siblings to swim to and talk along the way. In Junior High School, after learning to swim in fresh water ponds and the Atlantic ocean, I took a lifeguarding course in the brand new outdoor pool that was built at our school. It was taxing, exciting and served me well. I don't remember taking any formal swim lessons; ever. I think I just watched what others did a head of me and copied them; and as technical requirements increased (salvage diving in St. Croix), I learned more efficient strokes and techniques. I've been lucky to have many mentors and people willing to invest in refining my abilities in water along the way.
I started road running when I was 12. There weren't anything called running shoes then; 1974. There were various sport shoes and cleats, but no "running shoes". I remember buying a pair of Adidas because they were what soccer players wore, and I figured that they spent their whole games running. I'd run on hard packed dirt roads, gravel roads, sidewalks, pavement and conservation trails (close to simulating my 50 acre woods). I took up Soccer and Basketball in High School. Played on the boys team in Soccer (there wasn't Title IX yet) and the girls team in Basketball. I swam too, at the Brandeis pool for an alternate gym class (and loved it). I ran when I moved on board the boat (plus swimming and rowing, naturally). I ran on land as we sailed down the East Coast (you can learn a great deal about a place by running through it first thing in the morning and seeing how it wakes up). I ran on the islands, later in Portland, Me, NYC and SF. I ran road races with Joannie Benoit before she was the first female Marathon Olympic Gold Medalist. She'd be half way back from the half way point out around Back Cove (before there were trails around it) and I'd be half to the half way point. She was soooo fast!
In NYC I ran my first 10K. They called it the L'eggs (after the nylons that came in eggs) Mini-Marathon and it was around the perimeter of Central Park. I joined the New York Road Runners Club. Only time I've ever done that. The reason being that the "Central Park Jogger" happened shortly after I moved there, I loved Central Park (and took the train from Brooklyn to run there), and I'd often run after work (first year in mid-town, next 3 at Astor Place) from the office to the park and though the park. Brooklyn was nice to run, especially along the Promenade, but it never matched Central Park for me. I didn't own a bike or a car in NY.
In SF, I ran all kinds of crazy races, but I regret never having run the Bay to Breakers. I will at some point, as it can't be left un-run in my mental map of races. I think the Zoo Run was my favorite. At night, when many of the animals are more awake and I swear to god they were cheering us on! It was their turn to watch us exhibit our animal nature. Lots of chest thumping, shrieking and carrying on!
I owned a bike and a car in SF. Biking was the best way to get around if you weren't going to a formal meeting. It was also a really nice way to get out of town and explore other counties.
It wasn't until I was done having children and moved Back East, in 2002, that the idea of triathlons entered my consciousness as the new way to challenge myself. Crossfit wasn't a term yet, but as I turned 40 I knew that moving in more directions, not over working any one direction and keeping up with my yoga (done since I moved on the boat at 17) and stretching would be important. The bike piece is still my weakest piece. As a trainer friend said to me recently, "well you've never really owned a performance bike. They have always been utilitarian." Yup, me in a nutshell. I've also muscled through with whatever machinery I had a hand, and it's worked.
It wasn't until I started talking to other aging active folks, that I realized how natural tris are for middle age. Each component keeps you strong in limber with many muscle/skeletal groups, so what's not to like? For me, again the machinery. Haruki Murakami writes about it in his memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I can't find the exact quote (but will later, my pollen headache it making my patience short this evening), but he wrote something along the lines of swimming and running being the more pure pieces of a triathlon, as you only need a few basic pieces of equipment; running- shoes, glasses, shorts, a shirt; swimming - a suite, goggles, cap. A bike requires just that: a bike; PLUS, shoes, glasses, and other gear to keep up the bike (forgetting about the accessories that can go on for days and many dollars with a bike). So it's the part of a tri that seems over done. I know there are other triathlons that use boats, kayaks, paddle boards, mountain bikes and such instead of the road/tri-bike, but they also can be pricey even though they have less moving parts.
So tonight I'm going to bed, feeling like I'm entering a second childhood in a way; being true to the 10 year old in myself who loves physical challenges, running, swimming, biking and moving fast through nature under my own power. But also entering my years of growing old gracefully, but not by sitting still (something I despise), but by moving authentically forward with strength, curiosity and the commitment to keep finishing what I set out to start!
Good Night, Ageless Athletes, G'night!
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