Staring as the timer elapsed to zero, I awkwardly spun around and fell face-first into the water of Bowdoin’s large pool. It was the start of my 9th triathlon (how have I possibly done that many?!), and I was still shaky with nerves as I started splashing my way across the pool. As usual, though, the nerves started to fade as I fell into my usual stroke rhythm and continued on – although I can’t ever claim a fast swim time, I can at least be proud that I didn’t run into anyone throughout the strange snake-swim!
Tuesday swim practices this spring have been devoted to the snake-swim, which consists of starting at one end of the pool, swimming down and back in one lane, switching lanes, swimming down and back in that one, and continuing on across the pool. Weird, right? Not only do I struggle with swimming, but I especially struggle when I start to get dizzy from alternating the direction I turn every time I reach the wall. Snake-swimming was definitely not a favorite pastime of mine, but the team snaked together every Tuesday night in preparation for the race, so I couldn’t miss the bonding opportunity.
I want to give a shoutout to Brett Seeley-Hacker ’18 (a varsity swimmer turned triathlete) who kindly gave A+ demonstrations of flipping around at each wall and swimming under the lane line – although I never managed to do it gracefully as he did. Even in the race, nervously splashing around as always, I smacked my knuckles a few times on the lane lines and even hit my head when trying to go under it. Not a great start to my last collegiate tri – maybe I shouldn’t have skipped that one Tuesday night swim for trivia at the Skinny Pancake…
As I half-slipped half-stepped up the ladder, out of the pool of snakes, and into the sunshine, I felt relief just as I always do – that I survived the hardest part of the tri. Next, I got to bike across the basically-flat course, through gorgeous fields and waterfront views – and saw a few of our amazing, fast-swimming 21s along the way! I saw a few more Dartmouth Tri people on the run course too, which was a beautiful route through the woods. And finally, finishing the race with plenty of teammates cheering me on was a perfect way to end it – sunburn and all.
We had 40 Dartmouth triathletes racing that day – about half of them doing their first triathlon. We were by far the largest group there, and the eccentric announcer had a lot of fun making sure to emphasize that ANOTHER Dartmouth kid was finishing up and that ANOTHER Dartmouth athlete had made the podium (we even listened to the announcer’s CD on the way home – that may have been a little too much of him). My talented teammates inspire me every race – from the few that place at every race they compete in, to the ones that just completed their first race and managed to make it through every transition without forgetting something – everyone motivates me to push a little harder and swim, bike, or run a little faster.
Doing a tri is no small feat, and it takes plenty of planning and encouragement to get through it – that’s what the Dartmouth Tri Team is for. They are the best group of people I’ve found to not only work out with, but to spend time with – whether we’re training, snake-swimming, studying, eating ice cream, or celebrating after a race day, they are the people I’ll remember most from my college experience. I’m so thankful for the community that is Dartmouth Tri, and I can only hope to find a group that is half as supportive once I graduate this June.
Of course, even though I’ll be graduating, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop checking up on the Tri Team – I can’t wait to see how far the team goes in the coming years. There’s no one with whom I’d rather wake up at 4:30am, dance to pump-up songs in the dark while unloading bikes, eat wildly large quantities of Amato’s pasta, or listen to strange announcer’s CDs on long van rides – the tri team is where it’s at.
GBG and SBR,
Abigail
About the Author
Abigail (’18) is a tri team exec from Poulsbo, WA studying Biomedical Engineering and preparing to apply to dental school. She loves backcountry skiing, drinking great coffee, and spending time with her family in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
