This week I actually followed my plan, which was to bike once, swim twice, and run once. I would add another run but I'm going out of town and not sure that will happen tomorrow or Saturday.
So here's how it went:
Bike- Taught my 50 minute RPM class, (oh and I walked a mile before hand to warm up)
Swim-Tuesday I wasn't teaching, so I went to the pool and actually ran into two girls that are regulars in my spin class. It was really crowded and so they offered for me to join their lane and swim in a loop. Only problem was that they are doing a triathlon in April (5 months before mine), so they are close to being "trained". Not to mention it was one girl's third or fourth time training for one. SO, somehow (again with the fear of humiliation) I got sucked into following their program, since we were swimming in a loop and all, and had to do 10 laps non-stop 4 times with 60 seconds in between each set of 10. So yeah, I went from swimming 20-something laps last week with rest between every few laps, to 40 laps with rest every 10. But I did it, and didn't die from exhaustion, and so I went again tonight and did the same thing. Pretty exciting!
Run- Well, we know this is my biggest weakness but my friend A, who's also doing the tri with me, (but also completed a full marathon in DC several years ago) told me that I had to just run a mile without stopping no matter how slow I went just to get used to running and build from there. This made me nervous since all the "learn to run" articles I've found online tell you to start out with walking, then do intervals of running then walking, etc. But to be real, I've sort of done that for years and never built past it. So it was time. I ran a VERY slow mile on the treadmill but I did it without stopping. It took me 14 minutes and 5 seconds. Don't do the math; it's embarrassing. ;) Then I walked another mile and switched to the elliptical for 30 minutes.
So next week, I'll bike twice, swim twice, and run once. Oh and I think my 10 year old lifegaurding bathing suit that I've been wearing inside out is about to be see-through from wear and tear....not to mention it's pretty stretched out...so this weekend I think I'm going to purchase a new suit. Maybe they make speedos with built in bras and spanx now....that would be fantastic!
I'm pretty sore, so I'll take that as a sign of success for this week!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Back in the Pool Again...
It's been a while and I haven't posted b/c I kinda slacked off the past few weeks...and never went to the pool until today. I decided today had to be the day, that my anxiety about going to swim was ridiculous, and it's already mid February and I HAVE to train. So I went. When I arrived there were about 4,000 kids swarming the place for swim team practice, and I felt totally out of place! Luckily the girl at the front desk was super nice and didn't act like it was weird at all for me to be there, so
I bought a 10 visit pass that cost $46. I also bought a pair of goggles and some ear plugs (I get ear infections like a 4 year old, so I'm not taking any chances) for another $22...so all in all not bad.
There were only three lap lanes open tonight and luckily I got one all to myself. After researching some beginner training plans online today, I determined that I should start out by swimming 20 laps twice a week for the first month. Well I was intimidated by 20 laps and had no concept if that would be hard to do or not...don't laugh if it's obviously not...it's literally been that long since I've swam.
But much to my delight, that first lap felt natural like I had never stopped swimming! Success!
My heart was not beating out of my body as I had imagined, nor was I gasping for air. Another swimmer even told me I had "skills" when I mentioned that I hadn't swam in years! (8 to be exact! yikes) So I swam 24 total (2 warm up 2 cool down) and while I did stop for 10-20 seconds every 2-4 laps, it was mostly to adjust my goggles or hair and I was not struggling all that much.
Walking out of the swim center at the end, I felt a little floaty from the chlorine fumes...and I still smell it even after coming home and showering.
So hopefully I will keep this up since I have to build up to a minimum of 44 laps without stopping in order to cover the distance I'll have to do in the race.
I bought a 10 visit pass that cost $46. I also bought a pair of goggles and some ear plugs (I get ear infections like a 4 year old, so I'm not taking any chances) for another $22...so all in all not bad.
There were only three lap lanes open tonight and luckily I got one all to myself. After researching some beginner training plans online today, I determined that I should start out by swimming 20 laps twice a week for the first month. Well I was intimidated by 20 laps and had no concept if that would be hard to do or not...don't laugh if it's obviously not...it's literally been that long since I've swam.
But much to my delight, that first lap felt natural like I had never stopped swimming! Success!
My heart was not beating out of my body as I had imagined, nor was I gasping for air. Another swimmer even told me I had "skills" when I mentioned that I hadn't swam in years! (8 to be exact! yikes) So I swam 24 total (2 warm up 2 cool down) and while I did stop for 10-20 seconds every 2-4 laps, it was mostly to adjust my goggles or hair and I was not struggling all that much.
Walking out of the swim center at the end, I felt a little floaty from the chlorine fumes...and I still smell it even after coming home and showering.
So hopefully I will keep this up since I have to build up to a minimum of 44 laps without stopping in order to cover the distance I'll have to do in the race.
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