It was within this new old world that I witnessed my father in a way I never had before. He was so animated, eager to share his story in his native language and to engage with every person he met. In addition to locating his home (which is now the Norwegian Embassy) we found long-lost relatives and were reunited with such a profound joy it was contagious. My dad was home and I had a renewed appreciation for my country and my family.
PACKET PICK-UP, PRACTICE SWIM AND RIDE
In only its third year of existence, the Havana Triathlon offers both a sprint (half-mile swim, 12.4-mile bike, 3.1-mile run) and long-distance (1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run) option.
Prerace packet pick-up and the practice swim and bike are held at the site of the first transition (yes, there are two separate transition locations) at the Marina Hemingway. The marina was built in the late 1950s with three massive channels for sport fishing, and it is within the walls of these channels that the swim is held.
The average ocean water temperature is a balmy 77 degrees, and when reading through the athlete guide prior to my trip I found this:
“The use of swimsuit is optional for depending age-groupers, on water temperature at this time of the year, it may be not allowed.”
The word lost in translation is “wetsuit” not “swimsuit” otherwise there would be a lot of nasty chafing on the ride and run!
The bike portion of the race is held in what is heralded as “the most exclusive neighborhood of Miramar, which features perfectly paved roads lined with hundreds of wonderful Caribbean trees, where most foreign embassies call their home.” Flat and fast, just how we like it!
The packet pick-up area was easily located in a well-marked building, however, be warned that most of the staff does not speak English. Luckily I had my father with me to translate. I was given three bags, one for the bike transition, one for the run transition and one for after the race. The logistics are not quite what I am used to here in the U.S. and I had to separate all my gear, bag it and hope my run bag made it to its destination, which was near the finish line at the American Embassy. Little did I know that once I left my run bag in transition I would never see it again.
Transition 1 (T1) was easily located and after racking my bike and putting out my race bags, one to be left with my bike and the other to be transported to Transition 2 (T2), we headed out to enjoy the gorgeous day. Visions of riding and running on the iconic Malecón danced in my head but, unfortunately for me, those visions would become reality in a very different way.
RACE DAY
When I woke up at 5 a.m. on race morning I immediately knew something was really wrong. I felt sick to my stomach, and when I tried to sit up the whole room moved in a way I hadn’t seen since overdoing it on wine at girl’s night, only this wasn’t fun. It was terrifying.
I stumbled to the bathroom and tried to look at my face in the mirror, and I just couldn’t focus. Stubborn and competitive as I am, I very slowly dressed (by sitting on the floor) in my race kit and visor and then, exhausted and scared, I woke up my husband, crying and asking him to help me.
He woke up and walked me down the stairs. I sat in an outdoor chair, motionless and basically trying not to vomit. Inside my head, I was in a full panic wondering what was wrong and how I could possibly race, all while screaming “this cannot be happening!”
I tried to eat. I tried to take Dramamine. Nothing worked and the world continued to tilt and sway, refusing to right itself. My race wave was due to go off at 7:08 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m. I finally gave in and had my husband walk me back upstairs. I was devastated.
THE AFTERMATH
If anything had to go wrong on this trip, I’m glad it was my race and nothing to do with my father. I was eventually able to bike and run on the Malecón, it just took the rest of the week.
After returning home, I was diagnosed with a sinus infection that caused the vestibular neuritis (vertigo) at exactly the wrong time. I fully recovered from the infection within a few weeks, but I’m still recovering from the disappointment of being unable to race.
Unfortunately, no matter how prepared you are for a race, things like this can happen. Had I tried to push myself to swim, bike and run I may have ended up with something much more serious than disappointment. As competitors we are constantly pushing ourselves past our limits, but we also need to know them and be able to make decisions based on racing for a lifetime, not a short time.
Plus, according to the results, I absolutely killed it in my age group. Somehow, I was originally listed with a finishing time and an age group win (the results have since been fixed after I notified the race organizers). I cannot wait to try and beat myself next year!
26 | USA TRIATHLON | SPRING 2017
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