Quick Update: 1 Official Week down of training 13 more weeks to go.

First off,  I just want to thank everyone who has donated.  I have officially met the minimum race requirement for fundraising. I'm amazed and blessed by all the support I have received in this short period of time.   I can now focus 100% of my attention to the training. If you didn't donate, but still want to, here's the link:  http://www.active.com/donate/vineman13/MelissaErwin     

As for the training side... I have been very busy.  This was the first official week of my training plan.   For the most part I have stayed on par with the plan.  This consisted of 2.5 hrs of swimming, 2 hrs of running, and 4.25 hrs of cycling/spinning.   The only exception to the plan was Friday's swim.  It was suppose to be an hour swim, but it turns out the beautiful weather caused the outdoor pool to be super popular so I was only able to fit in a half hour swim.   

Also, I have joined a master’s swim program at my gym.   I think it will probably be the best decision in my training plan.  In this program, I have learned that I have a horrible kick, an incorrect stroke, and loose core.   All causing a lack of efficiency.  Hopefully with some instruction, I can break all my bad habits and become a stronger swimmer.  

After one week of training, I’m exhausted and looking forward to tomorrows rest day :)    

Some Races are Better than Others

This weekend involved my first open water triathlon of the season.   It was a sprint Tri, which means it is some distance shorter than an olympic distance tri.  For this race, I had a 500m swim in a lake, followed by 14 mile bike ride, with a 5k run to finish it off.   

Each race I do is a stepping stone the the half ironman in July.   This one had some great lessons learned.

Lesson 1:  Need to be more comfortable in open water

I’m a novice swimmer.  I have grown up spending all my summers in a pool, but mainly playing on a diving board.  I have never been part of a swim team or had a reason to swim long distances.   So I have acknowledged this as my weakness in my training and have made it a priority to swim the required distances with some instruction.   However, thats all in a pool with a pretty black lane line to follow and the knowledge of the pool edge is only 25 yards away.   Open water swimming is a completely different experience.   First, the water is a lot colder than a pool.  65 degrees vs 80 degrees. Second, the water can be murky and hard to see.  Third its up to me to remember to look where the buoys are to swim around.  Fourth, wearing a wetsuit for a swim is a completely different feeling than a bathing suit.  Take all that, while being kicked by a herd of swimmers equals a very stressed out swimmer.    I must make it a point to swim in open water more often other than race day.

Lesson 2:  Sometimes a Flat Tire Happens

The bike course was a hilly 14 mile course.  I definitely wasn’t crushing it, but I think I was holding my own (passed several ladies on the second loop).   I had just climbed the last hill of the bike loop and ready for a down hill rush only to feel my bike wanting to slow down.  Looked down and “crap” my back tire was flat.   (Note: prior to this flat, the total number of flats I have changed on my bike is 1 and I watched a youtube video the entire time).   Luckily I had a spare tire and a CO2 cartridge to fix the issue.   The whole ordeal was about 20 minutes.   But during that 20 minutes I got to watch everyone I worked so hard to pass, pass me.   Very frustrating.   All I wanted to do was quit and call it a day.   Which leads me to my next lesson...

Lesson 3:  No matter what happens don’t give up

Coming into the transition area after my bike ride was a little disheartening.  A lot of people had already completed the race and were packing up.   Me, I still had a 5k ahead of me.   I was pretty much guessing I was dead last, can’t confirm this though, and frustrated over the previous two sections of the race.   It took every ounce of energy to force myself to continue with the run portion of the course.  But I didn’t sign up for a duathlon, i signed up for I triathlon and I was going to finish it with my head held high.    I headed out of the transition area on my run all by myself with the course volunteers cheering me on.  Around mile one I slowly started to pass a few of the competitors, which definitely helped motivate me.  At mile 3, I was able to help out a kid who seemed ready to quit (dad was doing anything he could to motivate this kid) and challenged him to a race to the finish.  We both sprinted .15 miles to the finish line and crossed together.   No matter how hard it seems, we can always surprise ourselves and do the unthinkable.  I just have to remember, the unthinkable won’t happen if I don’t try.  

Now time to get back to training :)