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| Weather threatened this year's GNT. Plan for anything! |
I have long held an impression of the Gold Nugget Triathlon
as an easy beginner race – sort of a walk-a-thon of triathlons. And, partly because of this, my sister, Saree,
did not have too difficult of a time talking me into signing up for the race
with her and our sister, Paige. The
decision to enter really hinged on whether or not the three of us thought we
could each learn to swim in time, but it didn’t occur to me until quite a
number of months into training that the entire event (not just the swimming)
was worthy of respect and attention.
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| Swimming was the most intimidating for me, even though I'd spent all winter learning to swim. |
The GNT is billed as an everywoman’s triathlon. The organizers put major emphasis on the
rules of this event that make it achievable for anyone willing to put forth the
effort: there are swim lanes for fast,
medium, and slow swimmers, you can stop and rest during your laps, you can swim
any stroke or combinations of strokes you wish, you can choose whichever type
of bike you wish to ride, and you can walk or run the final leg. These rules, along with the fact that the
event is only for women – no men may participate – make it extremely accessible
for women of all ages, fitness abilities, and experience levels. Yet, the tri is still a stretch – none of the
event distances are walks in the park (swim 500 yards, bike 12 miles, run 4
miles), thus racers of all levels can set challenging personal goals. For beginner athletes, finishing may be the
goal. For the more experienced, setting
personal records may be the driver.
The bottom line of this article is that I highly recommend
participation in the GNT for women who either have never entered a race before
or for those who are seasoned racers, but are interested in diversifying their
fitness and sports repertoire.
Here’s why.
Motivation
Winter conditions in Alaska can be a major
disincentive to stay or get fit. It’s
dark, cold, icy, and slushy. You cannot
bike outdoors (unless you have an ultra fat-tire bike). Running outside takes effort. I found last winter that having the GNT on my
calendar for mid-May date was powerful motivation for hitting the gym, pool,
and getting myself bundled up to work out even if the weather was less than
ideal.
Diversity
Running is an excellent year-round sport
that can be done indoors and outdoors.
Many people own treadmills and can get their workouts completed at home
in front of the television. Yet, it’s
one of the most high impact activities you can do. Over time, the constant pounding can cause
chronic injuries to back, hips, knees and feet.
Adding cycling and swimming into the mix is an excellent and challenging
way to break up the monotony of running and bring low-impact cardio into your
life. I found several different triathlon
training regimens which called for a couple of running days, a couple of swim
days, and a couple of cycling days.
While this type of combo-training will not maximize your speed for any one
of the sports, I’m willing to bet overall fitness, strength, and health is
improved. Additionally, I found that my
interest level in all three sports remained high all through the winter because
I was not so intensely focused on a single activity.
Fun
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| T1 transition (swim to bike) takes the longest and warrants some planning. |
If you’re a veteran competitive runner or
cyclist, you’ve already bought into the thrill of crossing the finish line and
besting your own personal record. Just
triple that and you’ll start to get a sense of the rush you get in a
triathlon. You actually cross three
finish lines: swim, bike AND run. Add to that the bedlam of stripping off and
throwing on clothes and gear at each transition and you begin to achieve the fun-quotient
of childhood birthday party games.
Of course, you could get all of this by participating in any
triathlon – there are a number of them throughout Alaska during the summer
months (including the upcoming Eagle River Tri), but the GNT is the stellar
event. It’s huge (1500 racers). It’s all women. The course is beautiful. The organizers are expert. The volunteers are superbly helpful and
supportive. If you’re going to choose
one tri to do next year, make it the Gold Nugget.
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| My sisters and I started together and were glad we did! |
Additional Details:
If you are planning to do the GNT, here are a few words of
advice:
- Train.
- Practice “circle swimming” with friends before the race – it is not a big deal, but is helpful to have done it.
- Plan out your transitions.
- Don’t worry about the organizers losing your running shoes at T2.
- Start with your friends.
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