Category: triathlon

Sprint Tri Is On My Mind

July 22, 2014

I still have several weeks to go, but the Women’s Sprint Triathlon is on my mind.  I haven’t actually registered for it yet.  I should because I do really intend to do it.  Maybe that will put some fire under my tail to get me more serious about it.  This weekend I did two runs in a row on Saturday and Sunday, but that wasn’t on my training schedule.  I just felt like doing it.  Then on Sunday I was riding around on my bike in the driveway with the kids.  It felt good to be on my bike again and I have to get back on the road for some training.

The website has good information for women doing this for their first sprint tri event.  They have tips for open water swimming.  I need to do some training where I swim in my pool, hop out and ride my bike for several mile while wearing the clothes that I plan to race in.  I did purchase a bathing suit top and shorts that are “quick drying” fabric and am planning on wearing my sports bra under the top and compression shorts under the shorts.  If the shorts are too wet I may have a spare pare in my transition area to change into for the run.  These are things that I will find out when I train.

2014-07-17 21.55.38

For my swimming in open water training, I will be in New Hampshire in August so I plan on working on that in the lake up there.  I need to find out of my Garmin watch can be worn in the water, or grab an old sports watch I have laying around in my house to give me an estimate of how long I am swimming out in the lake.  It won’t give me distance but I can use time as an estimate.

My friend Danielle has been doing some sprint tris this summer with some successful first timer tips.  Check them out on her blog www.liverungrow.com.

I have to admit, I am a bit nervous about this event.  It sounds good on paper (just like registering for the Dopey Challenge), but I really need to get it together.

Triathlon Swim Testing

May 30, 2014

I finally made some purchases towards my triathlon goal.  I purchased goggles and a swimming cap to use on my vacation.  When I was in the store and looking at all of the selections to choose from, I messaged a few of my friends to find out what to select from. The advice I got was to try them on before you buy to see what fits comfortably.  I had a limited time to shop for these items, so I didn’t try anything on.  I selected Speedo because I was familiar with that brand.

swimcap

 

My intention was to hopefully get in a few laps at the quiet pool in the mornings before everyone gets up.  That didn’t happen, but I did get a chance to try out my new gear at one of the pools at night while it wasn’t crowded.

To be honest, I didn’t feel stupid when I put them on and got into the pool.  The goggles fit very comfortably.  The cap was ok as well.  Maybe I will get a black one for when I swim in public so I don’t look as dorky!  I did a few practice swims across the pool and back and felt good.  Then I kept doing a few more and realized how tiring swimming is!  I felt a little concerned that I will need to step up my game over the summer to figure out this whole swimming thing.  I had no idea how far we had to swim for the Sprint Tri in September and in my mind I was wondering how long it took the longest swimmer to finish the swim portion of the race.  That is the time I am going to have to beat at least so I won’t be the last one out of the water.

I like swimming with my face under water most of the time, but I am going to have to learn to take breaths at every other stroke or else I will get behind in my breathing and will be more tired.

I also have to figure out the kicking.  Do you kick a little or a lot?  How far is a lap?  How far do we have to swim for the race?  We have a circular 24 foot pool in our yard, I will spend as much time in it as I can this summer going back and forth, but I think I’ll need to research into the YMCA or the North Haven Rec Center to learn about their lap pool and to invest in a cheap Timex watch to help keep track of my laps.

I had my husband video me while I did a lap so I could review it and see how bad I looked and so I could put it out there for critiquing.  So please any feedback would be great!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANchiMys2Kw&w=560&h=315]

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