Sarah Van Tine’s First Olympic Distance:
For some of you that don’t know who I am I joined Team Tri Life this year and I live in Banff Alberta. Last spring/summer was my first year doing triathlons, all it took was one event and I was absolutely hooked! Then this year I figured it was a good idea to have a coach to help me out along the way, and that is when I came across Angie.
It was now time for me to do my first Olympic distance; I figured I would start off early in the season with the UBC triathlon in Vancouver. March 6 came pretty darn fast and before I knew I was on my way to Vancouver! Who would have ever thought that so many people would be interested in your bike bag when you travel! It was quite the conversation piece… and most people thought it was quite something when I said I was doing a triathlon We then arrived in Vancouver, and by we I mean my husband Jaison, he is such a great supporter in my new found passion, even though I am quite sure I drive him up the wall when it gets closer to races We then drove up to UBC to check out the course, once that was done I felt much better!
I think this could be the first triathlon where I did not have to arrive at the crack of dawn! All you had to do was arrive 1.5 hours before your heat start. This event was so well organized. So it was now time to get out on the pool deck to get things started! My husband had this little bet with me… (but I just could not bring my self to do it) but now I am thinking if I had done it I could have started a new trend in the triathlon industry or, everyone would just think I lost my marbles… Before I left for the triathlon a friend of mine was giving me some breathing techniques for calming nerves, one of the techniques was a karate chop, basically you put your arms above your head with your hands together and then you do a karate chop with a really loud yell, and you repeat 5 times, this apparently releases any tension…. I believe it really would work but I just could not bring myself to do it, maybe next time
This swim was in a 50 m pool which was fantastic! It was now my turn to go, and I was off! All I could think about was pacing myself and not getting into racer mode… I managed to pull it off and it was the best swim ever! Then it was off to the bike… I stop at the change tent, as it was cool outside, and after the Banff Triathlon I have learnt my lesson about what to wear. The bike was great, it was my first time on my new road bike and I loved it Then the run came I was almost there… the first part of the run was great, you ran around UBC in and around the trees, and then the last 3k came, it was the hardest part as I kept getting side craps, and had to walk several times, but I kept going, and got to the finish and felt fantastic! Later that night I thought I would look up my times as I was curious as to how I did, when I looked I almost fell off the chair! I placed second in my age category this for sure came as a surprise.
Now I know I can do an Olympic Distance and I will keep doing then for the upcoming season. Thanks Angie for your support and putting together my programs, can’t wait to dive right back into training! I can’t wait to see fellow team members at races this summer!
You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.
Michael Phelps
Thank you for ready my race update.
Cheers,
Sarah Van Tine (SVT)
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