By Steve Driben. "Goals push each of us to accomplish more."

On June 27, I was attending a good friend’s fortieth surprise birthday party with my wife. It was a great party, outstanding food and martini bars in every corner.

After several libations, a couple of my friends invited me to sign up for the Brigantine Triathlon on August 2. The Triathlon is referred to as a “sprint”. It begins with a quarter mile swim in the Brigantine (NJ) Bay followed by an 11 mile bike around the island and concludes with a 4 mile run.

Figuring that since I was a very good athlete and in shape, I accepted the invite. Shortly thereafter, this simple proposal to join in a friendly sporting event would morph into a challenge and ultimately a serious competition.

When I accepted the invitation, I figured if my friends were able to compete in this event at 40 years of age, so could I. After all, I have trained in karate for the past 22 years (the most recent five in mixed martial arts), attained my third degree black belt, and participated in all types of intramural sports, so how difficult cold this be? I was a well-rounded athlete… or so I thought.

I met my friends at 7:00AM the following morning to begin my training.

I asked, “how many laps in the pool equals a quarter mile”? The response was “16”. One friend, being experienced at triathlons suggested we only swim eight laps to begin. The cocky side of me said “sure, piece of cake”.

Guess what? After three laps I realized that this was not going to be a walk in the park but a major under taking to get my body “in shape” if I wanted to actually complete the race.

I was able to complete six laps to begin, but that was my limit.

After swimming, we got on the stationary bikes for 20 minutes. I do not know what level of difficulty we rode (probably a pretty easy level), but after 20 minutes, I thought I was going to throw up. Luckily, I did not eat any breakfast or I would have.

Next was the run. We ran about 1.5 miles. Both of my calves cramped up in knots. I could not believe this. Here I, the guy who supposedly is in shape and takes on anything physically, would not be able to complete this triathlon - unless I focused hard over the next 38 days making changes to my diet and training regimen.

Soon, my hard efforts and determination were beginning to pay off. After two weeks of intense cross-training, I was running four miles with an average time of 36 minutes, swimming 32 laps (1/2 mile) in 19 minutes and biking 11 miles in 36 minutes. This is in addition to bodyweight training and karate training.

The intensity of my training increased reaching an apex on the Saturday prior to the triathlon. I completed all three segments together (swim, bike, run) for the first and only time prior to the actual event. I rested on Sunday and then continued a daily routine rotating swimming, biking, running, karate and ended on Friday doing a low impact aerobic session for 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, followed by stretching.

I was now ready for my first triathlon.

The Brigantine Triathlon

Saturday, August 02, 2008, 08:00 AM
26th Street Dock
Bayshore Ave and 26th Street
Brigantine, NJ 08226
(This story contains attached files of the event. To view and download them, you must register as a member and log in.)

The day had arrived. I woke up at 5:00AM, followed my regular routine of drinking coffee, reading the morning paper, checking email and eating my usual breakfast. At 5:45, I headed for Brigantine.

Driving down, it was sunny and warm; the perfect conditions for the event. Once I arrived, I checked in at the registration tent, set my gear up and began to focus. Here I am a 40 year old guy, in the best shape of my life, fully prepared to compete in my first triathlon. I looked at the 600+ contestant surrounding me; I was not nervous and no longer worried how I would fare.

My competitive juices started flowing. I now wanted to finish with a better time than most people; at least in the top 50.

While psyching myself, I ran into an old school buddy of mine, Mike Hassman, who I have not spoken to since high school. It was great to see him. At first he asked me if I was okay. I must have had a determined look on my face instead of my regular jovial smile. I told him I was just preparing myself and was fine. We each spoke of why we registered for this event, and Mike shared some great advice on how to approach the race.

At 8:00AM, the national anthem was sung, safety rules were reviewed, and we were off. The swim, although tough, was not nearly as difficult as I had prepared myself for. I did start (as did the rest of the contestants) swimming fast. But I quickly realized I could not keep up the pace; I was slowing down, swimmers were passing me and I began to lose hope.

But after three or four minutes, I was able to get into a rhythm. I began catching up to and even passing a few of the swimmers who had passed me. Soon, I was feeling great, and I could see the shore and was already planning the best way to get out of my wet suit to make the transition to the bike portion of the event.

I took off my wet suit and was tying my shoes when the announcement came.

Word immediately spread that the triathlon was being cancelled due to a lightning storm that blew in quickly. No one could believe it. Triathlons are never postponed or cancelled; they always go on rain or shine. But lightening was a deal breaker. We were told the delay would be a minimum of one hour. If it even was resumed, the question remained for those of us who completed the swim . . . would we then have to swim again?

As I headed back to my vehicle, I ran into Mike again. He opened his home to me (and others) to come and take cover from the rain. Not only was Mike competing in this triathlon, so was his brother David. His mother Lillian, although not competing, was a volunteer for this event, along with other family members and friends.

During the storm we all chatted and traded stories. Thirty minutes passed and although the storm let up, the race was eventually cancelled. The roads were too wet to race bikes without possible injury. I thanked Mike and his family for their hospitality and headed home.

But the day was not a loss; it was actually a gain. I felt great! I finished the swim in about 14 minutes, was in better shape than I thought and reconnected with a friend who I haven’t seen in over 20 years. But I didn’t do all this training for one swim; next week I’ll participate in another triathlon I learned about in Marlton, NJ (DQ Triathlon at Kings Grant). I still have my competitive juices flowing and I’m curious to see how I do in all the events this time. Stay tuned . . .