Tri'ing to gain confidence

By Jackie Botsford:

In order to know how far I’ve come in my triathlon training, I feel I must share where I began. Prior to joining Raise the Bar and Raise the Hope, I can’t tell you the last time I was in the water. I was too ashamed and embarrassed of my body to get into a swimsuit, so I was resigned to sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else having fun. I refused to wear shorts because I didn’t want anyone to see my fat legs, and I would wear long sleeve shirts, even in the summer, because I wanted to hide my big arms. I’ve never exercised regularly and spent all of my adult life yo-yo dieting. I knew it was time to make a change and I called upon my good friends, Tina and Teresa, to help me out. They both had been doing triathlons for the past two years and not only looked great, but had amazing stories to tell about their experiences with Raise the Bar and Raise the Hope. I was inspired both by them and what they had accomplished, and looked forward to joining the team.
I wasn’t a swimmer, cyclist, or runner, and knew training wasn’t going to be easy, but I was prepared, or so I thought. I found myself getting discouraged because I had been swimming for months but not getting any faster. Coach Patty told me, on two separate occasions, that I needed to “pump some iron” and build some upper body strength. Did I listen? No. It wasn’t until she said it a third time that I called upon Karen Nolting to provide me a workout to give me the “swim muscles” Patty said I needed. A strange thing happened a couple of months later; I started swimming faster…imagine that?!? These coaches really do know what they’re talking about! Coach Kathy provided Team WeWillRockYa with a 5K program and then a triathlon training program. I plugged away at both, still unsure of what my first triathlon would be. I signed up for Danskin, but really wanted to get at least one in before that. A lot of people were doing the 5-mile lake tri, but that seemed way too soon. Tina told me I was ready and convinced me to sign up. The following weekend, I went to the 5-mile lake co-ed tri to watch my first triathlon and cheer on all the fabulous RTB and RTH ladies and gents. I watched my friends pedal and run past, looking so strong. It was a sight to behold and left me excited for my first race the following weekend.
The morning of the women’s 5-mile lake tri arrived, and I was ready. My nerves were getting the better of me, but my only goal going into it was to finish, and finish knowing that I did my best. Whatever would happen outside of that, I tried not to concern myself with. I showed up to the park and get to transition area; my nerves started to kick into high gear. Thank goodness Angela was there to help me out with racking my bike and guiding me through transition set up. I heard my name, looked up and saw Tina and Teresa standing there. I began to relax a little bit and heard my name again. I looked over and saw my mom. Seeing her, I got a bit teary-eyed and really excited. She wasn’t sure if she was going to make it to the race, and I am so grateful that she was there. I was going to race with my friends, for many of us this was our first race, I was surrounded by friends and family who I love, adore, and admire. At this point, I knew this was going to be a great day.
The race started and I began to swim. Someone swam over my back, I got a foot in the face, but I just kept repeating in my head, “stroke, stroke, breathe” which helped me concentrate on my pull and prevented me from panicking when I was pushed down in the water by the gal who swam over my back. As I got close the water’s edge, I thought back to Kathy Morrison’s words “swim until your fingers touch the bottom”. Done – now get out of the water and go! Thank goodness my body responded much faster than my brain. I kept moving and trying to think of what to do next. Again, thanks to Angela for being there, in her firm, authoritative voice telling me to “keep moving, keep moving, go, go, get your shoes on, keep moving”. She talked me out of the transition area and I was now on my bike. I looked up and saw Katy ahead of me, and for any of you who haven’t seen her ride – let me tell you, she is fierce on the bike and a force to be reckoned with. She is fast and was quickly out of my sight. I continue to pedal, and am still feeling pretty good. I get to the hill and am slowly climbing it. I hear “Go Jackie” behind me and what did I do? I turned my head back to see who it was – dumb move because when I turned back around I found myself heading toward the dirt shoulder and what looked like blackberry bushes. Panic, swerve, swerve, recover. Note to self: NEVER do that again. I get to the top of the hill and Diana blazes past me. She is another fast one and disappeared just as quickly as I saw her. The bike ride came to an end and as I get off my bike I almost fall. The cleats on my shoes are slick and my foot slid right out from under me. I managed to right myself and get to transition. Oh, and did I mention before that it was great having Angela there? I got to transition and I was all out of sorts. I couldn’t think of what to do next and there was Angela, my angel, forcefully telling me, “Get you bike shoes off, quick put on your shoes, lace up your shoes…you need those speed laces Patty was talking about…keep moving, keep moving…”. Seriously, I really do need to say thank you to Angela. I couldn’t concentrate when I hit transition both times and having her there helped tremendously. My body responded to what she was saying while my mind was somewhere else. So, Angela, if you are reading this – Thank You! The run started out slow, I had a difficult time getting my breathing under control. I walked for a few seconds and my calves felt like they were cramping, so I started to run again. Now I felt like I was wheezing, so I had to walk for a little bit more, trying to ignore the cramping in my legs. I was able to control my breathing and started to run again. I was feeling good, but started to get really tired. I forgot to eat my gel earlier so I gagged it down, hoping I would see the water station soon. I eventually got to it and I don’t think water ever tasted so good. I did have to do one more quick walk after the water station, but was able to run in the rest of the way to the finish line. I actually did it - I finished my first triathlon.
And as for those big arms that I talked about earlier? Well, the pulled me through a .25 mile swim in 8:23. And those fat legs? They pushed me 14 miles on a bike in 54:58, and then carried me 3.1 miles in 37:50. My finish time – 1:44:51. So, back to the beginning of my story and how I got to this point - I am no longer ashamed or embarrassed of my body; it has allowed me to do some pretty amazing things. I am still a little self-conscious, as you will see me tugging down my tri shorts and yanking down my tri top as it rolls up and over my wide hips, but I am a work in progress. Joining the team has changed my life, and my outlook on life. This wouldn’t have been possible if not for all the fantastic coaches and ladies I am surrounded by. Each and everyone one of them has inspired me in their own special way, and I will be forever grateful for their support and words of encouragement. Now, on to the next race…