Triathlete In Training: Journal Entry #8

author : Terese Luikens
comments : 1

Have a goal when you get into the water. If your purpose is distance, then set your pace for endurance. If your objective is speed, then incorporate drills.

Swim training tip for this month: Have a goal when you get into the water. If your purpose is distance, then set your pace for endurance. If your objective is speed, then incorporate drills. Since I had never swum more than a slow-paced breaststroke for a short distance, I set small objectives of increasing the number of laps I did every time I got into the water. As I built my endurance for swimming longer distances, I replaced the breaststroke with the freestyle one lap at a time. I have been swimming four times a week for the last seven months, and have met my goal of swimming a mile free-style. Now it’s time to increase my speed.


The only way to accelerate your pace is to take a small segment and swim it faster than normal. This is called swimming intervals. My race distance is 1/3-mile, which is about twenty laps in a 25 meter pool. One drill I will incorporate this month is to divide my distance by 10 and swim the smaller portion with quick pace, resting briefly in between each segment. My overall goal is to swim 1/3 mile in about 15 minutes.


Triathlon workshops - invaluable information

I attended my first sprint triathlon workshop and walked away encouraged and a little more informed. The presenter was one of the sponsors of the race. She told the story of how the event, Valley Girl Triathlon, was conceived by her and a girlfriend over a cup of coffee. They wanted a local race that would attract a variety of women, from beginners to seasoned athletes. It has become so popular that this year they had to create another one, West Plains WunderWoman.


I picked up some hints on what to wear. I can purchase a tri-suit for all the events, swimming, biking and running. And if I lace my shoes with EZ laces I will save time tying them.


Before you tri, signup for a duathlon or a 5k

The whole race site can be intimidating to new racers like myself, so I have decided to participate in a duathlon in May. Doing something like this can give you an opportunity to experience a racing event and a transition station, and it will give you a jump-start for your first triathlon. This particular duathlon is a two-mile run, ten-mile bike, two-mile run.


Volunteer!

I am planning to volunteer at the Valley Girl Triathlon. This is will be another chance for me to become familiar with a race site and how to move quickly through a transition station.

 

Becoming a volunteer yourself at a local race can give you first-hand experience on the entire triathlon and how it works, which could go a long way to calm your nerves for your first race.


"As we increase our personal challenges our stamina will increase as well." 

 

 


 

 
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date: April 11, 2007

Terese Luikens