Lynner Jonah-Daly completes triathlon, preps for another athletic event

Eileen Jonah-Daly’s usual work involves real estate in Lynn. For one day this spring, however, she competed as a triathlete in California.Jonah-Daly swam, biked, and ran to a four-plus-hour finish in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon in Monterey, Calif., on May 4. She completed the triathlon, located an hour and a half outside San Francisco, in about four and a half hours (4:33.12).”For myself, I did well,” Jonah-Daly said. “(I did it) not to compete against anyone. My goal was to just finish.”In the Olympic course, Jonah-Daly, 42, had to finish three stages: a 1.5-mile swim, a 26-mile bicycle ride, and a 10K run. She had never competed in a triathlon before.”I was extremely exhausted from start to finish,” Jonah-Daly said. “It was one of those experiences that you ask, ‘What did I get myself into?’ When I crossed the finish line, I would never do it again. Then I was talking about coming back.”It’s terrific. I was empowered. There’s a huge sense of accomplishment once it’s over.”How it beganWhat brought this Lynn English graduate (Class of ’84) and member of Annmarie Jonah Realtors across a continent to California? A San Francisco connection helped.Jonah-Daly’s friend Leslie Milne lives in Lynnfield, and Milne’s sister Jennifer Lazule lives in San Francisco. Lazule, a veteran triathlete, had already signed up for the Avia Wildflower, and encouraged her sister and her sister’s friend to participate.Beginning last November, Jonah-Daly trained for the event. She trained for almost seven months, swimming in the Lynnfield-Peabody YMCA pool, running on its treadmill, and taking spinning classes (choreographed group classes on a stationary bicycle).Jonah-Daly flew out on May 1, a Thursday. She called the flight uneventful. The triathlon proved anything but.Going to CaliforniaIf you’re into premonitions, this one didn’t seem auspicious. During the drive from San Francisco to Monterey, with her car going at a 70-mile-her-hour clip, Jonah-Daly’s mountain bike fell off the rack. Two other cars ran over it before Jonah-Daly could retrieve it.”At that point I thought my journey was over,” Jonah-Daly wrote in an email. However, she continued, “we put the bike back on the rack, drove to the race site, and with the help of some weathered tri-athletes who travel with cycle tool kits, the bike was adjusted and brought back to life.”The triathlon took place on the weekend of May 3-4, with different age groups competing on different days. Three thousand people participated.On Sunday, May 4, participants enjoyed a sunny day with 72-degree temperatures. The first event, the 1.5-mile swim, took place in the fresh waters of Lake San Antonio. Jonah-Daly had not swum outdoors during her training due to the New England weather, and characterized the outdoor swimming part of the triathlon as “very scary.””The worst part of swimming is that you’re contending with other swimmers,” Jonah-Daly said. “The horn blows and people swim over you, you’re getting knocked in the face until you get to more open water. The most stressful part is when you’re crammed in with all the other people.”After and getting out of her wetsuit, Jonah-Daly put on her helmet and transitioned to the bicycling component. She described the course as beautiful.”There are rolling hills,” she said. “It was very peaceful and enjoyable.”Some difficulties intervened; Lazule had several flats, and Jonah-Daly’s chain broke. She had to fix it three times.Once Jonah-Daly finished the course, she returned to a transition area. In her shorts and spandex top, armed with granola bars and Fig Newtons, she prepared for the final stretch: the 10K run around Lake San Antonio.”The running part kind of traversed a wooded path,” Jonah-Daly said. “It was quite hilly. Like the bike portion, it was beautiful. Lake San Antonio and Monterey are secluded. There are not a lot of residents. It’s kind of pastoral.”Return ? and reprise?Jonah-Daly returned home two days after the triathlon, full of San Francisco stories