Tuesday, I was going to try to get a ride in, but didn't make it out of the office until after 5, so it was already starting to get dark. So I figured it was time to get the running shoes out again. I had set them aside during football season - running the sidelines with a lot of stop-and-go effort doesn't help the distance running. Didn't want to push it right off the bat, so I did a 30-minute run/walk. Felt pretty good.
Wednesday, I managed an earlier exit from work. Got home and changed clothes, got the road bike out and pedaled through the neighborhood to warm up. Once I got out of the 'hood onto a bigger (longer) road, I decided to work on a sprint. The first 5 miles was into the wind, so the 15-mph average didn't look too good. But once I turned for the next 7 (for some reason I was thinking the Rookie Tri is 12 miles of riding) I ended up managing an 18.6 avg overall. Yeah, yeah, I know - need some work there. But I have to get out of the 100-mile pace-yourself mentality.
The distances in the Rookie Tri are actually: 300 meter swim, 11.1 miles on the bike and a 2-mile run.
We were supposed to ride this morning, but it started raining last night and didn't quit until after noon. So, we decided to swim instead. It was kinda funny when we walked into the Rec Center and I swiped my card through the reader. Normally, it just beeps, but this time it played the tada trumpet. The lady behind the counter hollered "Happy Birthday" as I walked down the hall...anyway, the pool wasn't too crowded, and just as we walked into the pool area, two women who were sharing a lane were getting out, so the timing was perfect. We climbed in and did some warmups. I once again started out with a too-fast stroke, so I got a little winded after a couple of laps. But once I slowed down, I was able to swim longer between stops. I figured I would see how far I could go without a long break, given the slowness of my swimming. I managed a 300 meter swim, and didn't feel too winded. By this time most of the other swimmers had left the pool so I moved over to the next lane. I swam a 400 meter distance, and still didn't feel too bad, so I was pretty excited.
That first triathlon won't be an attempt at any great time -- goal number one is to just want to get through one and finish, and after today's swim, I feel like I can manage the swim okay, as long as I remember to not get ahead of myself. The swim is just the first leg, but now I am beginning to feel okay with it. So - I have the swim manageable, the bike definitely is doable with more sprint practice - now I just have to work up to a 2-mile run...
This is probably going to hurt tomorrow, isn't it? oh, well, tomorrow is an off day - I am volunteering at a off-road bike race.
So I am getting excited. I am going down this week and look at tri bikes and wetsuits! The next step is trying out a bike. I got fitted yesterday so am anxious to see what the tri bike feels like. The bike shop said I could road test one or two, for a few days at a time. Cool!
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