Dodging the dull stuff...

I ended up marshalling a duathlon this week (just checking the road is clear for the cyclists at a junction) seeing as I took part in the last one I thought it was only fair. I got chatting to one of the tri guys about training and he was saying how he is focussing on the swimming because it is his worst area. I asked him how his front crawl was coming on and he stated he still struggled but was persevering. I have to admit I have been dodging the swimming. Even though it is also my worst area and I really should focus on it more. I think part of the reason for dodging it is the convenience factor: It's not as easy as chucking your trainers on or grabbing your bike. You have to check the local pool is running lane swimming, and when, and then allow for the fact that other people use it too! Sometimes it's packed (7am) but what can you do? Still need to practice. So this week I have resolved to get into the pool more, and practise both breast stroke and front crawl based on the couple of coaching sessions I've had. I think it goes under the radar because my brain tells me "swimming is the shortest bit, like ten minutes max" which is true for this year, for the sprints, but if I want to progress to a normal distance tri I'm going to need to be able to swim 4 or 5 times the distance I am now. The bit that scares me most about going up to normal distance is the swim! The bike and run you can plod through if necessary, but even without trying to push it, the swim is exhausting!

I managed to bash out 30 lengths on the trot thing morning. It was easy enough and works out at 750m which is still sprint distance (depending on which race you are taking part in). It took about 20 minutes (which makes sense as I’m currently doing 16 lengths in about 10 minutes which is 400m, the swim distance for the sprints I’ve been opting for so far). Let me just put this into perspective for you with some information from the British Triathlon Federation:

Super sprint - 400m/10km/2.5km
Sprint distance - 750m/20km/5km
Standard distance - 1500m/40km/10km
Middle distance - 2.5km/80km/20k
Ironman distance - 3.8km/180km/42km

So it looks like I’ve been doing super sprint swim distance but sprint distance bike and run. The swim didn’t feel too bad and I wondered if I’d built the swim up into this big bad monster and was expecting it to be far worse. The curse of working in cognitive behavioural therapy is you end up applying it to yourself! I should have known that avoiding something would have made it feel worse.  The other funny thing is about perspective. Slogging away to hit 16 lengths seemed like a proper mission whilst doing it, but working towards 30 lengths the 16 passed by without so much as batting an eyelid! This was probably because I realised I couldn’t just hammer it and get it done like the 16, I had to actually pace myself and think about keeping going rather than getting it over with.  I think the other main problems with swimming are one: it’s boring! I know I could swim 1500 metres (60 lengths) as I already have, but jeez it will be dull! Also, the likelihood is that the standard distances will be open water, which is a whole new ball game! And also very hard to gain practice in.

So, all in all, loads of reasons to stop dodging swim practice! Next stop, the pool!

Forgetfulness and determination (stubbornness!)...

A big part of the learning curve for me when I first got into this Triathloning lark a few months ago was the realisation that there's actually quite a lot of kit you can end up buying! Without turning it into a money pit there are some essential pieces of kit you can't really do without... like a good pair of running shoes. I was fortunate enough to have a pair already (gathering dust at my parents) from a previous (failed) attempt to get into running several years before. Best £70 I ever spent. And that's a lot for me for any item of clothing/footwear. Ask anyone. I'm from Yorkshire after all (turtlely amazing as it is). The difference having the right footwear makes is amazing. I recently went to an aquathon, ten miles drive from my house, and realised once I was there that I had managed to forget my running trainers. Being a stubborn so-and-so, I decided I hadn't come all that way for nothing, and proceeded to run 3 miles in my pumas, which are not made for running, or actual sport of any kind actually. They are more the 'looking pretty' kind of trainer. The upshot was I could really feel my feet impacting on the pavement (having received no coaching on running style ever and thinking it might be a good time to start!). The next day my back was not my friend at all, and after a pitiful limpy run on the Monday evening, I gave up even thinking about exercise for the rest of the week. It's still a bit twingey now, over a week later, and I keep kicking myself for being daft enough to take the risk running in the wrong shoes, but then we all have to learn somehow, and this was a pretty big lesson. I hate the idea of having a debilitating physical complaint later in life which I can only put down to my own utter stupidity.

Anyway, back to the title, so there I am having a massive "D'OH" moment, thinking 'how can I possibly have come for something involving a run, and managed to forget my running shoes?'. You wouldn't think it was actually possible would you? I didin't think I could really get any dafter than that, until I went for a swim the other night... and managed to forget my towel! So what did I do? Did I learn from my running experience? Or did I get my determined/stubborn (depending on your point of view!) head on and go for a swim anyway? I think you can guess... Never mind the risk of hypothermia, cold, fungal infection etc. I swam, I dripped dry and then drove home. Prat. What next? Forgetting my bike next time I go for a bike ride?

Websites!

Here are some useful websites relating to the Triathlon stuff in the Grimsby area:

Clubs:
http://www.grimsbytri.co.uk/ Grimsby Triathlon Club
http://www.woldsvets.co.uk/ Wolds Veteran Runners Club
http://www.lincsquad.co.uk/ Lincs Quad (Quadrathlon club swim, cycle, run, kayak)

Events:

http://www.freebirdevents.co.uk/

http://www.pacesetterevents.com/

http://www.tri247/

http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk/

Useful Information:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.britishtriathlon.org/

That'll do for now!

First 'BLOG'!

Hi all,

 I'm new to this! This is going to be a combination of learning how to 'blog' and learning how to train efficiently and safely... I recently joined a Triathlon club and started doing some proper exercise to train for these. I'm starting at the very beginning doing sprint distance (typically 400m or 750m swim, around 20km cycle, and 5km run). I did my first one at Woodhall Spa on the 29th of May and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been really surprised how quickly my fitness levels have developed. I expected to be pretty broken after exercising solidly for an hour and three quarters, but the next day I felt fine. I was slightly aching, but nowhere near what I thought I was going to be! Anyway, I've had a few people tell me how they have felt inspired or motivated by my posts on Facebook regarding all this exercising malarky, so I thought it would be nice to have somewhere dedicated to it. This way people can choose to look or not look, I can keep track of my training better, and people can also offer advice to me, be it about blogging or exercising! I also recently hurt my back, which put me out of the loop for a week to be on the safe side, so I think a record of how I respond to things like this and whether what I do helps/hinders problems like this will be useful for reference in the future.

SO... any posts, information, links, comments, anything at all that you feel is relevant, please join in! (I'm winging it here, can you tell?!)

Ta muchly,

Sue (Padoopa)