Lindsey Bamba Looking Forward To The Black Hills Triathlon Challenge Again

black hills triathlon
Lindsey Bamba (center) is flanked by her Oly Fed coworkers, Amanda Coic (left) and Abby Ferrari during last year's Black Hills Triathlon.
0 Shares

 

By Gail Wood

oly fed sponsorGrowing up with a swimming pool in her backyard, Lindsey Bamba learned how to swim as a little girl.

“My mom made sure we all knew how to swim at an early age,” Bamba said.

But, she wondered, could she run long distance? With that nagging question in the back of her mind, Bamba entered the Black Hills Triathlon last year. As she expected, the swimming portion of the race – a half-mile swim in Long Lake – was easy. But the 3.1-mile run was the challenge.

black hills triathlon
Lindsey Bamba (center) is flanked by her Oly Fed coworkers, Amanda Coic (left) and Abby Ferrari during last year’s Black Hills Triathlon.

“I’m not a runner,” Bamba said.

That, she found, is true. But she’s also not a quitter. Bamba finished the sprint triathlon last year. And, again showing that no-quit attitude, Bamba, the west side manager of the Olympia Federal Savings, will compete again in the sprint triathlon later this month. The Black Hills Triathlon, which returned last year after a four year hiatus, will be June 29 at Long Lake for the second year.

“I enjoyed it so much I’m going to do it again,” Bamba said.

It’s not the running that brought Bamba back. It’s the cheering people. It’s the satisfaction of saying, “Yeah, I did that.” And it’s the excitement of an event that  drew about 220 competitors last year and is expected to draw nearly 300 this time.

“Last year, I was just worried about finishing,” Bamba said. “I wasn’t really worried about what time I got or what place I came in.”

Bamba showed grit. She finished, despite weary legs. But she didn’t show lots of speed. She placed last with a time of two hours, 59 minutes and 17 seconds. However, she did finish, a major accomplishment.

“That was my goal last year,” she said. “Now, I know what to expect and I know what I how to train this year now and I hope to have at least a decent time.”

Bamba’s reason for entering her first triathlon last year went beyond answering that question – “Can I finish?” There’s another prod – her job. Bamba works for Olympia Federal Savings, the primary sponsor for the event. Last year with a couple of her co-workers (Amanda Coic and Abby Ferrari) signing up, Bamba got caught up with the excitement and said, “Sure, why not?”

But it’s not like Bamba doesn’t have a background in sports. In the late 1990s, she played on North Thurston High School’s fastpitch that qualified for state. She also turned out for volleyball and soccer in high school. So, she’s familiar with sprinting down the basketball court or toward first base. It’s just that anything longer than 50 yards was what she considered a long-distance run.

“I’m not very good with the running,” said Bamba, a 1999 North Thurston High School graduate.

Bamba is doing her best to change that. Training three or four times a week, Bamba either runs a couple of miles, rides a bike or swims. She’s been working on that transition from riding a bike to running, getting used to that switch.

“The hardest transition is going from the biking to the running,” Bamba said. “So, when I’ve been training I’ll ride for a couple of miles and then go right into running. That’s where I needed to work. Transitioning, using a different set of muscles.”

Black Hills medalThe Black Hills Triathlon is a USAT sanctioned sprint distance triathlon. The race is for both beginner and veteran racers. The three parts of the race are a half mile swim in Long Lake, a 17-mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run.

Interested racers need to get online and register since there will be no day-of registrations.  The race is set for June 29.  There is a mandatory pre-race meeting at the lake at 7 a.m., a half hour before the start of the race. At 10 a.m., there will be an awards ceremony near the finish line on the fairgrounds.

“We’ve changed the finish line,” said Kim Stamp, the race director. “We’ve moved it to the Thurston County Fairgrounds. Everything will be up there except the swim. We rented the entire Fairgrounds. We’ll do our post race party there, too.”

With the positive feedback from last year’s racers, Stamp said the interest in the race is up and she’s expecting about 300 entries, about 60 more than last year. She said the City of Lacey has partnered with the race and has been cooperative and supportive.

“The City of Lacey has been wonderful as far as being committed to the event and helping us every way possible,” Stamp said. “We’re really grateful for the hospitality of Lacey.”

Last year, Jon Walker beat Alden Black by just three seconds in a close finish to win the race, finishing with a time of one hour, 17 minutes and 42 seconds. Dana Reid was the first women finisher and placed 13th with a time of 1:32:44. Pete Bisson, at 68, was the oldest racer last year and he finished in 1:45:00 for 58th place.

To learn more about the Black Hills Triathlon on June 29, click here.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares