Thursday, April 12, 2007

I’m a TriDiva – And That’s a Good Thing

When I get involved in anything I tend to give it my all. My training has definitely been proof of that. My free time is now consumed with workouts, my dreams filled with training, my net searching dedicated to triathlon, my apartment a land of misc. gear, my closet full of hi-end workout gear, and my credit card bill full of charges for races and Toga Bikes’ purchases. I usually take a vacation in the spring of each year and in keeping with the theme my vacation became a tri-cation. While searching on active.com I came across the TriDiva training camp in Kona, Hawaii. Sometimes I can be really shy but when it comes to something I want to do I have no problem just randomly emailing people or putting myself in a completely foreign situation. And that’s exactly what I did. I emailed Kelly, the amazing coach/owner of the TriDivas, and inquired about the camp. Two weeks later I had the trip booked and paid for.

Last week I made the ten hour plans trek (2 five hour flights) over to Kona. When I first got there and arrived at the Hotel I had a brief freakout. “What am I doing here? I don’t know anyone! I am going to spend a whole vacation training! I must be insane.” But after I picked up my beyond sweet rental bike from Oliver at Cycle Station and swam for about an hour I felt a lot better. That night I might the crew who would be sharing this awesome experience. About half of the women there trained with Kelly in So Cal. And as I soon found out why her athletes would follow her anywhere: Kelly beyond rocks. Just check out her bio here. Kelly was always there to provide encouragement, tips, or tell us for the fiftieth time what it was like to compete in an Ultraman (yep – she did it twice). Kelly genuinely cares about promoting the sport of triathlon for woman and I only wish she could be cloned.

I don’t want to give away the itinerary from our trip (you need to experience it for yourself) but needless to say we probably trained for a solid 4-5 hours a day. Our training included all three disciplines as well as brick workouts and transition drills. Although I feel so well prepared for my first race (The Philly Tri) I did learn that I have a ways to go on the bike (not surprising). On the flipside I rock on the run (who knew?). The crew actually gave me the nickname “7” because I ran a mile in seven minutes midday on the hot volcanic surface. Shoutout to Suzanne from Colorado Springs. She pushed me so hard by giving me someone to catch up to and (even sometimes) beat. On a side note: Suzanne came with her Mom, Chris. How freaking cool is that???

One of the coolest things about the trip was that we were training where the Kona Ironman takes pace. We swam in the same water, biked along the same roads, ran down the same streets. I vaguely remember some of the sights from watching on TV but I can’t wait to see it again now that I have been there.

I would be remiss if I did not mention all the awesome women that joined me in this great camp. From Sheila, who made sure I did not bike alone, to Chris, who did not let four flat tires get her down. I hope to run into you all again – On the finish line.

1 comment:

Dances with Corgis said...

And here I thought you were just going to Hawaii to be fanned with palm frods by buff men while you layed on a hammock next to the ocean!