Girl Power: An All-Women Aquathlon Review
I'm still alive, blogging universe! Just been pretty swamped with so much work (seriously, it just gets busier and busier), but I've managed to keep my head above water.
Since my last post, I've celebrated my birthday, been a bridesmaid at a longtime friend's wedding, tried to balance work-family-friends-ministry-training, and joined three races (over three consecutive weeks these past few weekends).
The first race of the month was the annual Ateneo Aquathlon. Unlike last year, though, a friend of mine and I decided to team up this year and we joined the relay category. I was going to do the swim leg (which is my forte) and Mildred was going to do the run leg (which is hers, especially after having done marathons and an ultramarathon). We thought teaming up would be a great idea; true enough, we had a blast!
Mildred and I both signed up for the race (we joined different categories, though: Mildred wanted to try a standard distance aquathlon for the first time; I joined the petite because I wanted to prioritize speed over distance) and were mildly surprised to see a lot of familiar faces. Mildred saw several of her running friends, while I saw a bunch of triathletes and aquathletes I'd met and raced against in previous aquathlons and in my first triathlon last November.
Mildred and I waiting for our respective waves. Mildred was a bit nervous because she'd never done a 500m swim without stopping during training, but she shook off those nerves and decided to just have fun. That's the best kind of attitude!
Since Mildred's wave was up first, I watched from the bleachers, took photos, and cheered for her. I'm proud that she was able to do a standard aquathlon distance swim leg (she only took formal swimming lessons last year as a way to crosstrain on her off-running days), and she's stoked to have crossed this item off her multisport bucket list.
Several minutes later, it was my turn to be called down. (Photo © Earl Tormes)
Because I had trained more extensively for the Ateneo Aquathlon two weeks prior, I was still in good shape for this swim leg. I think I pulled off one of my strongest swims, all by God's grace. (Photo © Earl Tormes)
When I was done, I jumped out of the water and went to my transition area. As I wrote earlier, I struggled to put on my socks (talk about wasting time for transitioning!) and just ran without them. (Photo © Arianne Gelito)
Mildred looking strong during the run. Hitting the pavement is really where she shines. (Photo © Arianne Gelito)
At one point during the run, I felt myself slowing down a bit. Then someone pushed me from behind and overtook me. She happened to be my friend, Vanessa (in the Army Navy trisuit and with neon pink Newton shoes). Literally, she gave me a much-needed boost. (Photo © Arianne Gelito)
I didn't think I performed spectacularly during the run (even if I do a lot of running during the week compared to swimming and cycling, I still think it's my weakest sport). I just decided to have fun along the way. (Photo © Arianne Gelito)
About to cross the finish line. I really have to do something with that rear-foot-kicking-outward thing going on. (Photo © RickPets Lens)
With Mildred and our finisher's medals. We were both very happy with how well-organized this race was (thank you, Bike King!) and how it had a very encouraging, non-threatening atmosphere. (Photo © Earl Tormes)
Thank you to my family, friends, and colleagues for supporting me in all my crazy (ad)ventures; to my friends in the multisport world for all the encouragement (special mention of course to Mildred, my aquathlon sidekick these days; to her husband, Earl, for being our race photographer; to Vanessa, for the much-needed motivation and literal push; to my tri team, Poveda Tri Team, for cheering for me even when if we're not at the same events and I can't wait to don our official trisuit); and to the Lord for continuing to strengthen me and for allowing me to maximize whatever physical gifts I possess for His glory.
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ReplyDeleteI'll be joining Atleta Ako! this Sunday and came over your blog for some eavesdropping and motivation haha this is my 2nd aquathlon (1st was ateneo last week) and I'm really enjoying it even if I only had formal swimming lessons this January. Your blog lessened my nerve cracks. Thank you so much! Hope to see you around! :)