Come out and play

Editor’s Note: Starting today, local triathlete Susan Roberts begins a six-part, weekly column about getting ready for the Crescent City Triathlon and Duathlon.

Remember asking your friend’s mom if “Peggy” or “Jesse” could come out and play?  Playing was riding your bikes all over town; playing was running like the wind through the schoolyard. Maybe playing was going to the beach all day.

Can you “play” today? Do you want to? You can. Come on along.

The 27th annual Crescent City Triathlon and Duathlon will be  held Sunday, Aug. 14. It’s the perfect goal for getting out there and playing. To sign up, go to  crescentcitytriathlon.com.

A triathlon is three sports strung together. Here, it’s a pool swim, a bike ride down Pebble Beach and a run around Beachfront Park.  It can be done individually or as a team, where two or three members share the relay.

A duathlon is two sports, with a  run, then a bike ride, then a run again. It also can be done as an individual or a team.

A kids triathlon is held for ages 5-12. Their distances are much shorter than the adults and vary by age group. 

So, let’s play!

The big advantage to a triathlon is that you don’t need to compete against anyone, not even yourself!  Do it for your own internal (physical and mental) health. Do it because you learn something new, you accomplish a new activity, you feel better about yourself, you make new friends. In the process, oh my gosh, you become healthier.

And, if competition is what drives you, you can find as little or as much as you want. You compete against people in your own age group. Of course, you always can look back and compare your accomplishments against what you did last year.

How do we play here?

The city has a gem of a facility:  the Fred Endert Municipal Pool.  Go down and check it out. It offers lots of swim times and even swim lessons. We are so fortunate to have it, so let’s use it. The price isn’t bad. In fact, it is one of the least expensive pool facilities I’ve ever seen. And river or ocean swimming is another option. 

For the adult triathlon, you need to get back and forth across the pool 10 times. And you can do it with any stroke you wish:  freestyle, breast, side, or floating.   The kids’ distances are age dependent and are much shorter. They can use flotation devices, but not the adults!

Do you have a bike? Can you borrow one? If it’s not possible, find a person who’ll be a team member with you and do the biking! But if you can, get outside and pedal away. There are grand bike trails around to allow a good start without dealing with traffic. Smile, then giggle, then laugh your way around the harbor, around Beachfront Park, or down at Point St. George. Always wear your helmet. Don’t listen to your iPod, listen for traffic and people. Have your bike checked out to be sure it’s working properly. Any kind of bike can be used, it needn’t be a fancy road bike.

Running or jogging or walking will get you to the finish in the triathlon.  Figure out how far you can run today. Is it from one telephone pole to another? Is it halfway around the high school track?  Is it to the end of the pier?  Professionals do “intervals,” so can you: Run or jog for a minute, walk two minutes. Continue!

Talk a friend into doing one or three of these activities with you.  Learn something together. Depend on each other. On Tuesdays you can join an informal group at 6 p.m. at the pool entrance for walk/jog/run options; we’ll answer your questions, too.

So, come out and play and start to put a swim, a bike, and a run time into your schedule each week. Get going, start somewhere, and make it fun. 

 Susan Roberts, who could neither swim nor run six years ago,  placed fifth in her age group last November at the 70.3-mile triathlon World Championships.  She started at the Crescent City Triathlon and has since become an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer.