As you may have seen
in my New Year, New You post, I like to task myself every year to try new
things, grow personally and professionally, and typically challenge myself in
some way physically. This year for my Physical Challenge (Double Dare anyone?),
I chose a Triathlon. Now, let me preface this by saying that a Triathlon is
comprised of three sports: running, swimming and cycling. I am indeed a runner
but am an absolute novice when it comes to the other two. Therefore, this has
proven to be and will continue to be a challenge. That’s what I signed up for,
right?
Time, Money and Food!
First of all, it is a
MAJOR time suck. Don’t get me wrong, it is exciting and I’m learning something
new every day and challenging myself physically and I’m loving it BUT training
for three sports takes A LOT more time than for just one sport. My training
schedule includes workouts 6 days a week (marathon was like 4) and biking and
swimming take a bit more planning and time in general as just heading outside
for a run. Not to mention 2-3 hour long workouts every Saturday morning. Here
is some insight into my last two Saturday practices. Started with 3 mile run in
the butt ass cold then immediately into hill sprints, what it sounds like,
sprinting up and a down a hill over and over again with a coach yelling at you
to work your arms and get your legs up, then to the Rec center for core work
and yoga and THEN into the pool for 45 minutes. Last week we again ran 3 miles
in the butt ass cold and then hopped on the bike for a 15 mile ride. It is a
lot people. Basically, my life is completely centered around when I can fit in
a workout. It’s just a few of months so I keep telling myself I can do it!
It is also pricey as hell – swimsuit, cap, goggles, hand paddles, swimming lessons (yes, more on this later), bike helmet, bike shorts, bike tune up, bike shoes, more dry fit leggings/shirts, a Tri bag (yes, this sport requires its own special bag because you have so much crap to carry around for the big practices) and other various things are breaking my bank!
You must also consider your daily caloric intake and your diet in general when you start training for something like a marathon or triathlon. It is a difficult balance as although many might think you are working out so much you will lose weight when you are working out that much you are hungry as hell all the time so you have to find the right balance of eating for fuel and recovery but eating the RIGHT things and not giving yourself free reign to eat everything in sight just because you worked out that day. Your body is also reacting, changing and building muscle so contrary to popular belief not all marathoners or triathletes are skinny!
It is also pricey as hell – swimsuit, cap, goggles, hand paddles, swimming lessons (yes, more on this later), bike helmet, bike shorts, bike tune up, bike shoes, more dry fit leggings/shirts, a Tri bag (yes, this sport requires its own special bag because you have so much crap to carry around for the big practices) and other various things are breaking my bank!
You must also consider your daily caloric intake and your diet in general when you start training for something like a marathon or triathlon. It is a difficult balance as although many might think you are working out so much you will lose weight when you are working out that much you are hungry as hell all the time so you have to find the right balance of eating for fuel and recovery but eating the RIGHT things and not giving yourself free reign to eat everything in sight just because you worked out that day. Your body is also reacting, changing and building muscle so contrary to popular belief not all marathoners or triathletes are skinny!
Swimming
Swimming is my current nemesis as we base lined at
my first practice in the pool and turns out I suck. Haha. I was expecting this
because knowing how to swim and actually SWIMMING or racing are two different
things but it was still a blow to the ego. We were supposed to do 30 laps,
which is the same distance as an Olympic Triathlon swim (see details below) and
after 5 laps my coach told me to just do 10 today (Sprint Triathlon distance)
as I could barely even swim one length of the pool without coming up for air
and dying. Honestly, there are so many moving parts to swimming – breathing
rhythm, stroke mechanics, balance and body roll, kick with your butt not your
legs, keep your head down but your butt up, blah blah blah. Plus, it is a sport
that you move with, not against, so my natural tendency to pound it out or
muscle my way to success does NOT work so I’m having to change my typical
approach and relax and let go. For those of you who know me and especially the
athlete side of me this is not easy. Another challenge I suppose! Anyway, due
to my suckiness in the pool I am having to do individual sessions with my Tri-coach
and signed up for private lessons with an actual swim teacher! And let’s not
forget about the incredibly sexy high leg, one piece Nike swimsuit that
flattens my boobs like a 10 year old boy and the high cut leg style makes me
feel like I’m a Victoria’s Secret bathing suit model in 1984. Warning: you must
surrender your pride and all things sexy if you decide to train for a
Triathlon.
Cycling
I also learned
quickly that although I know how to ride a bike, riding a road bike is another
story. I didn’t even know where to put my hands and had to look up on the
internet which way my helmet went. The first two times I took out my bike (which I borrowed from a friend –
Thanks Nancy!) I thought I was a total idiot and didn’t know how to work the gears
but turns out they were broken! Haha. Total loser. Spin class was a helpful introduction
to practice form and get comfortable with the upper body lean that you do when
on a road bike and the guys at Richardson Bike Mart were AMAZING at giving me a
quick tutorial after fitting me to my bike. It seems I still have alot to learn though in terms of dealing with flats and changing tires - yikes! And the only thing sexier than my high cut
leg, flat chested one piece swimsuit are my super sexy padded crotch bike
shorts. But trust me, my lady business would not be happy without them so I
happily obliged. So, I actually really enjoyed my first long practice ride and
am getting comfortable and learning my preferences for gear shifting, etc.
Right now I’m still in running shoes that fit into my pedals but I may upgrade
to cycling shoes and clips which allow you to have more control, power and
speed on your bike. But they scare me because you are “clipped” in and I
foresee many falls in my future with that plan. I actually did fall during the first ride, but
of course not while moving, just while standing there. We were pulled off
waiting on the rest of the group and I had one shoe fit into my pedal and one
out and all of a sudden – whoa, whoa, WHOA , TIMBER. And I went down. Typical
Jess.
Running
Obviously, I have
this one down but the different is that my body has been trained to run long
distances so my natural pace is a little slower as I had to ensure I could
sustain 13.1 or 26.2 miles at it. But with the Tri’s, I’ll either be doing a 5k
or a 10k and could definitely speed up my pace and help improve my time. So,
another modification I’ll be making to my natural tendency so I can speed
things up. My hip should allow for these shorter distances (for those of you who
don’t know I stress fractured my hip two summers ago while training for a half
marathon and although apparently healed it hasn’t quite been the same) so I’m
hoping my body will survive.
The Race
My race is the
TexasMan Triathlon in Valley View Texas (north of Denton) on May 5th.
The swim will determine if I do a Sprint distance (500yd swim, 16 mile bike,
and 5k) or an Olympic distance (1500m swim, 24.1 mile bike, and 10k) triathlon.
Technically the training for both is the same. Moral of the story is I will be
in the best shape of my life after this and I better have a rockin’ body! My
luck though I’ll just bulk up like a damn man. Haha.
I am training with
Team In Training, an organization that benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Each team member is required to fundraise for LLS so I would appreciate your
support in the form of a donation on my behalf to LLS as your money will go
towards research for cures for these terrible blood diseases and helping to
improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Click here to access my
fundraising page and donate now! Thank you in advance for your generosity!
