It was October, 2008 when I bought my first bike. I have been looking to get one for a while, but I just didn’t want to spend too much money not knowing for sure I was going to get hooked. One day, I stumbled upon the best deal one could ever find, and I actually happened to think the bike looked awesome! Who cares about the components, the wheels, the saddle etc. – the bike MUST look good, right? Well, it did, and here is Mr. Scott about 2 days old! J
Mr. Scott hung out in my spare bedroom until about April, 2009 with some occasional trips to a local bike shop. He needed a little make over to make him triathlon friendly.
I believe it was April 9th, 2009, when I did my first BRICK workout ever! Oh yes, I finally understood why bike workouts followed by running are called BRICKS! My legs felt like BRICKS and yes – I remember to this day.
Fast forward to May 10, 2009 and my first triathlon race! J The New England Season Opener – Sprint Triathlon. In a nutshell, I had a blast even though the weather wasn’t exactly great. I ended up winning my age group, and it was that day I knew triathlons were going to become part of my life. My love to compete was back! For those interested, you can czech out my race report in the race report section of my blog. As soon as I was done with this one, I started to wonder what I could do with the next distance! The Olympic distance!
Few short weeks later, and it was June, 2009 my 2nd triathlon race, and 1st Olympic distance race – Mooseman International! Race that is usually super competitive and most triathletes in this area sign up for. I had an absolute blast! I loved the distance a lot more than the sprint distance. Honestly, if I am going to be up at 4 am, my race better last a bit longer than an hour, right? I came in 4th in my age group, and again this race left me wanting more! For a detailed race report, and if you want to see how slow my swim really was, visit my race report section.
Another month went by, and I was toeing the start line of another local sprint triathlon. I was able to win my age group J, and I came in 5th overall woman. Sweet! Not much to report here. You know by now where to find my race report!
Then it was time to go home to visit my friends and family! For those of you that don’t know me, I am from the Czech Republic, from a small town called Benesov just outside of Prague. I have not been home in about 6 years or so, so this was going to be a trip to remember. J I had every intention of working out, or at least running and swimming, but it just didn’t happen. I spent a lot of time with my family, and friends. It’s just been way too long since I have last seen everyone, and I had to take advantage of every second. Originally my trip was going to be for 2 weeks. When it was time to head back on one beautiful August morning, Delta airlines had different ideas. To make story short, the plane we all sat on for over 5+ hours, never left the Prague runway, and I was “forced” to take the next available flight, which at this point wasn’t until Sunday! So sad! 4 extra days to spend at home! SWEET! More time with the fam. My mom is missing!
When I however arrived back in Boston, I had one week to get ready for my 4th triathlon of the season, and my 2nd Olympic distance race – The Cranberry Olympic.
I must be honest, I really didn’t even want to do the race, but I already signed up, and paid for it, so I showed up and did it. I am not sure what I was thinking at the time, but I knew the course was relatively flat and fast so I wanted to PR. I got news for you all! It’s impossible to PR and improve without training, and hard work. You know where to find the race report again, but I will tell you now, that the race SUCKED! Yes, I still came in top 5 in my age group, but that wasn’t the result I was looking for. But how could I feel good when I did absolutely nothing that’s swim, bike or run related for the last 3 + weeks! Wishful thinking! I hurt during this race, and especially on the run. One thing that I learned about myself in this race is that I didn’t give up and I made myself to push through the pain that I brought upon myself by being lazy! I had a good excuse though, and I would never take it back! Home sweet home! J
Cranberry was my last race off the season, and I knew I had some unfinished business to do!
In a nutshell, my 1st triathlon season was great FUN! It was also a pretty successful one! I followed a general plan that was given to our entire team, and I tried to stick with it. I had a blast, and I finished the season wanting more. I wanted to be able to unleash my competitiveness and take it to the next level! Yes – I did win my age group at couple of small races, and I placed in the top 5 in the two Olympic races, but I knew that with proper training I had potential for way more. I also wanted to test the waters of the 70.3 distance and I began thinking about getting a coach that would work with me 1 on 1, and could help me get to where I belong! :) … To be continued J
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