Escape From Fort Delaware – Sprint Triathlon

.2 mile swim – 10 mile bike – 2 mile Run

Crazy Nut...

It's very exciting to be able to do shorter triathlons, as I don’t put any hard core expectations on myself... but to get it done and win, right?  

  

My races are like mini epic adventures and this short one was not lacking in the fun department... first off the fact it was an afternoon/evening triathlon with a 4pm start.. just gotta love that sleep in, do what you want all day, then mosey on down to the race venue later. 

So not really getting the fact that I am not swimming in the actual open bay area... I arrived and looked out at the ominous bay and thought well its only a .2 mile swim... I shouldn’t have issues, swam in worse....and so as I bond with nature and gaze upon the wondrous grey skies, someone mentions the fact that we were swimming in the canal behind us.. SNAP..

NO shit and really... dude this is going to be cake... 

A point-to-point swim in a calm canal with the current... I can do this blindfolded!

So skipping around, setting up transition, realizing how much I really DO HAVE... and then it's time to stuff the potatoes in the sak (wetsuit putting on time).. board the bus to the start,  and get this party going!

It started to turn ca bit colder, so having the wetsuit on but not completely zipped up kept me toasty.  I was in fact... REALLY quite happy... sure I hadn’t practiced much recently but this was a short tri and it's like riding a bike.. once you know it you don’t forget ..oh yeah!

A kind older lady helped me finish zipping up the back of the wetsuit and we put our toes in the water... and..

HOLY... MOTHER..... OF GOD..... DAMN IT WAS COLD!!!!!!!!!..

The water temperature was around 68 degrees and just say... ME... NO LIKEY...COLD.....NO ......NO......NO....

Just before we started I noticed my hands were a lovely bluish/lavender color and I thought, how odd?  I really wasn’t THAT cold....did I touch ink?... I moved my fingers around..hmmm.

And its time to go... in the water and then.. OMFG my wetsuit is cutting off the circulation in my upper body because I have too much SHIT ON.. yeah I had my bathing suit.. then my tri suit .... then my wetsuit.. please don’t judge stupid..

AND OFF we go... and I felt like I was suffocating....  I tried to swim.. I could not breath..I could not get any arm extension.. I was in a giant sarah wrapped shell... slashing around the water... I tried to doggy paddle.. um no... i trried to back stroke. . no... i tried to bob like a cork.. OH HELL NO...

Did I mention that this was damn near the calmest water I have ever swam in and I am flailing around in my wetsuit..??!. I am going to drown in .2 miles of calm water!!

 

I can see that tombstone inscription now... 3X Ironman DIES in Sprint .2 mile swim WITH the current in calm water.

It took me 8 mins... 8 mins to flop around trying to “out race” the last place girl being escorted by the kayaker... when I made it to the dock... You would have thought I won the Hawaii Ironman... 

People whistles, cheers, hoorays.. I WAS a ROCK STAR!...  How UTTERLY mortifying..

So let me tell you about that swim again...

And so I had to take a moment to unwrap this suffocation cloak and I finally managed to hobble to transition... to my bike.. I am FREE!!... hell has unleashed as I blaze a trail.. me and my zero... taking over people on dirt bikes and scooters ...... I was so pleased to go from next to last in the women’s field in the swim  to 8th place on the bike

Swim Time: 8:23

Overall: 82/84

Out of Women: 36/37

Bike Time: 30:37 (Average pace 19.6 MPH)

Overall: 27/84

Out of Women: 8/37

Run Time: 16:16 (Average pace 8:07 min/mile)

Overall: 37/84

Out of Women: 12/37

Finish:

Overall: 33/84

Out of Women: 11/37

Kinda crazy that the trusty old hip didn’t give me one ounce of problem on the 10 mile bike but as soon as I put one damn foot on the ground in the run I was screaming for morphine. 

TWO lousy miles, something I do as a warm up would cause so much agony. 

One day I will look back at all this and laugh.. and say how wonderful it was... to be able to do such great things with my life..

BUT right now.. at this particular moment...I NEVER WISH TO RUN AGAIN EVER...  

I am DONE.

But then again..

It's super cool to win a fancy smancy age group award, 2^nd in age group... 

SO the moral of the story is... a TRIATHLON..... is three parts... one part crazy and two parts nuts... if you mess up on the crazy part.. you always have the nuts... and yeah.. NEVER SAY NEVER...

Supervisor Talent Social Marketing for QVC

So excited for this new chapter in my life..!!
.....Supervisor Talent Social Marketing for QVC

QVC has been my passion for 24 years .....to think when I started in 1989 as a wee pup that I would grow into such a professional young lady.  TO think how did this happen and I can only say that it's truly the direct result of a fantastic man who was my mentor, my coach, and truly another father to me for the last 14 years of my life.  My Boss, the Executive Vice President of QVC's Customer Fulfillment Services, John Hunter. 

See I was his Executive Assistant for 14 of those 24 years...working side by side with him, learning the nuances that were QVC, learning what it meant to exceed the expectations of every customer, to keep our word and do the right thing, to be responsible for our actions, and continually strive to improve, and above all to make a difference!  To say he molded me into an intelligent, professional young lady would be such an understatement.  To this I can only say THANK YOU.. to my beloved boss... thank you!

...and well it was now time for my boss to retire... and for me to grow and utilize some of those life learnings.

A-HA... but to find that perfect fit... the position that would embrace who I was ....and who I am... the challenge to mesh the analytical with the creative.. the left brain with the right brain...the sane with the crazy... . 

Over the course of the past year my boss and I laid out a plan to educate and substantiate who I was, in order for me to land that best suited position to embrace that charisma that is me. (I think this was a nice way for him to say that they broke that mold when I was born so let's see what we can do with it)... kinda of funny since my real father said the same thing.  Things that make you go HMMM.  

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity.... a conglomeration of resume rewrites, interviews, and rebranding of my image.  Promoting myself to individuals, making them understand who I truly am....that I really was all that... and more.  To think that creating, maintaining and sourcing a vintage online business; authoring a book on my triathlon experience; creating a website and facebook social platforms; being an advocate for cancer research and education; and mentoring and leading people would become of some value!  ALAS!

Meshing my life learnings and social skills landed me this amazing opportunity to work with the Talent at QVC and their social platforms.  To be able to help coach, mentor, and advise people so they become the best that they can be, what a truly fantastic opportunity!

PS: Given the fact that I haven't accidentally walked on stage while they were filming live..well I can only assume this means they will keep me for a few more days... although I can be a bit mouthy at times... ... I am fairly passionate about what I believe in... perhaps I can blame that on my boss or dad too... !?

Eh?!

Check out my Facebook Page, click like and follow:
Wendy Mastripolito Facebook Page