So you wanna be a Triathlete? | Trifuel

So you wanna be a Triathlete? | Trifuel.

 

Great article courtesy of Trifuel.

The one and only Cookie Monster

Pretty much how I feel after any swim

Great Blues and Paddleboards

It seems I write a lot about my early morning swims, which in one respect, is pretty confusing to me because it’s my weakest aspect of triathlon. Not that I’m stellar on the bike or the run, but I am a super slow swimmer. Just putting it out there. But to me, swimming has this visceral sort of beauty that I don’t get while biking or running. I never see a great blue heron on the channel banks in the pre-dawn light while biking. I am never startled to see paddleboarders while running. But to me, everything is kind of hazy and sleepy at 6 am and that fog can provide great beauty.

Speaking of swimming, I signed up for a four week swim clinic. As usual, I was the last one to finish a 400 meter time trial, but that’s the point of being there, right? To get faster? I learned a lot in that first hour, especially kicking from the hips, rotating the body, pulling from the armpits, and not lifting the head. I tried incorporating all of these techniques this am but realize that it’s going to take some pool time as well.

Training is coming along. As with anything of this magnitude, it’s all little steps that lead to the larger effort. Last weekend consisted of a 6.5 mile run and a 36 mile bike ride on the B2B course route. Last year I didn’t ride the route at all, which in hindsight, might have been a good thing to do since riding it last week I remembered the water stops, the distance, etc. It’s nice to have a perspective of where you are in the race and how your body is feeling.

I was talking to my son this am and he asked me what the hardest part of B2B was for me. He then said that he wants me to run the entire half marathon course this year. He’s very opinionated on this. But then again, he’s a fast little sh*t so there’s that 🙂

So I try (tri?) to be a good example to my child, to keep putting one foot in front of the other, to show him that you can accomplish so much in this life if  you get out of bed and just start moving.

“So we beat on,  boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” A little Gatsby for you on this Friday am and below, an image of one of my favorite things about channel swimming.

It’s Where We Live

Saturday morning I was fortunate enough to get a mini-tri in with some friends. Technically it wasn’t really a triathlon, but we did cover all three sports.

Living on the East Coast I’m very lucky to have a wonderful climate and opportunities to exercise outside pretty much all year. The city that I live in has experienced a population boom although the roads have not matched the growth, we are fortunate to have some semblance of a bike trail system. It is by no means comprehensive (Denver) or even enough, but I’m lucky enough to be able to leave my house and get to the beach by bike.

Knowing I had to had to get a 20 mile bike done this weekend I thought it might be fun to ride to the beach, get in a postponed swim, and ride back. The swim was postponed due to all the rain we’ve been having this week. Swimming in e. coli just doesn’t sound appetizing to me or my friends, so we postponed our regularly scheduled Friday swim for Saturday.

The water we swim in is in a channel that flows by the ocean. It’s a heavily developed area with plenty of roads and houses. It’s clean water for the most part, but when it rains you don’t want to risk getting sick. Too many dogs, yards, etc. I have a friend who I swim with who conducts water quality testing as part of his job so if he gives the heads up then we go.

Anyhoo, we met at T’s house and road to the beach, dropped our shoes at the end, and rode our bikes to the put in. The wind was blowing hard from the south and you could see the current moving. It was going to be a great swim. Twenty (!) minutes later we were done and headed back to our bikes. I was worried about the traffic, but in all I saw two boats.

It was such a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, and as I went to breathe I could see golden water drops from the sun’s reflection. It was so pretty I wanted to keep going, which is a rarity.

It was mornings like this that make me feel so grateful for having the time, the opportunity, and the friends to enjoy this beautiful place I’m fortunate to call home.

A Reasonable Training Plan

After much scouring of the Internet, I think I’ve found a reasonable training plan for the B2B. A lot of them are VERY comprehensive, which is great, but I often shy away from the ones that require multiple work outs per day. Come on, people! It’s summer and I have a family. I’d like to be able to see them sometime. Anyway, the plan was created by Matt Fitzgerald and so far I’ve been able to stick to it. The link can be found here.

In other news, training has officially begun. Last night was a nice four mile run followed by a rain shower that just happened to start as I returned to my house. Taking it for a sign, I plopped down in the grass and enjoyed it. 

Nothing like a good rain shower after a run

Training will continue tomorrow with our weekly channel swim. The south to north route is my favorite. Due to my lack of bilateral breathing, I am reassured every time I see a dock.

And finally, speaking of swimming, I seem to have lost my B2B swim cap from last year, my goggles, and my son’s goggles (which I just bought a month ago).ARGGH!!! Does anyone else lose goggles the way my family does?? Happy training, Nancy