My first experience as a triathlete and my post-season plan.
I have been an athlete all of my life, and the thought of life post collegiate sports kind of freaked me out. I rowed Varsity 4 years in college and without the prospect of buying my own boat, I turned to triathlon as my new obsession.
I've only done one, and it was in July of 2004. Small Texan Triathlon in Boerne, TX. It was an Olympic distance course in the hill country of Texas. Being a recent college graduate I was able to coax my dad into buying my bike. And of course knowing nothing about biking beyond recreational I went for the mountain bike. I knew I would ride it even if I never got hooked on triathlons. I bought myself a training swimsuit, a pair of goggles, some spandex shorts and some new running shoes. I bought the Triathletes training bible, wrote my own workouts, and read every article and book on swimming technique I could. Swimming is my weakest point. Rowers are bottom heavy, the initial force from the drive comes from the legs, I had to get past the whole leg sinking thing. It was a challenge and I watched as many people as I could who appeared to know what they were doing.
When race day came, I was the only one with a mountain bike. As I checked my bike in, someone told me I was brave. It seemed as if everyone their knew each other. It was a little tight-knit community of triathletes from all over who were just used to seeing each other at races. Everyone was walking around checking out each others gear, and wishing each other good luck.
To tell the truth, I freaked out on the swim. Not because I was getting kicked or swam over, but because I got claustrophobic in the greenness of the lake. All you could see was green. So I side-stroked (not really a technical term) it the whole way with my head out of the water. I used more of my legs than I would have liked, but you live you learn. My first mistake? It was the first time I swam in a lake.
Then I was off on the bike, the hills were incredible, the down hills saved my legs for the next uphill, but I was understanding why someone was telling me I was brave. All the extra weight of my bike and the tread of my tires gripping the asphalt.
Luckily, I didn't get too far behind. And my cross country stint in high school really helped with the run. I ran my way into 3rd in my age group and took home a medal. I was shocked, tired and extremely excited. My goal was to finish. That was it - I was hooked. Now I spend my days scheming on how to get faster.
Off season workouts:
Mon: At lunch I go to a US Masters swim class (I very quickly got to a point I wasn't getting any better on my own) at night I go to Yoga
Tues: At lunch there is a spin class at my gym, and at night I again go to yoga
Wed: Lunch, swim class
Thurs: Spin class
Fri: Off or workout if I feel like it
Sat: Yoga
Sun: Swim and elliptical machine
I'm not running because of an injury while training for a marathon, I'll start running again in January. I feel like the yoga has really helped strengthen the muscles that support my knees. And of course, new running shoes always help.
My goal of going to the classes is to work on technique in the off-season, so when I really start training I can go all out and not worry as much about injury. I not only want to get faster, but I want to go faster longer. I'm trying to become more efficient.
My goals for 2005:
Finish my first Half Ironman in Lubbock Texas, do 3-4 more olympic distance triathlons. I'm going to return to Boerne and drop my time enough to win in my age group.
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Triathlon, My New Obsession
My first experience as a triathlete and my post-season plan.
I have been an athlete all of my life, and the thought of life post collegiate sports kind of freaked me out. I rowed Varsity 4 years in college and without the prospect of buying my own boat, I turned to triathlon as my new obsession.
I've only done one, and it was in July of 2004. Small Texan Triathlon in Boerne, TX. It was an Olympic distance course in the hill country of Texas. Being a recent college graduate I was able to coax my dad into buying my bike. And of course knowing nothing about biking beyond recreational I went for the mountain bike. I knew I would ride it even if I never got hooked on triathlons. I bought myself a training swimsuit, a pair of goggles, some spandex shorts and some new running shoes. I bought the Triathletes training bible, wrote my own workouts, and read every article and book on swimming technique I could. Swimming is my weakest point. Rowers are bottom heavy, the initial force from the drive comes from the legs, I had to get past the whole leg sinking thing. It was a challenge and I watched as many people as I could who appeared to know what they were doing.
When race day came, I was the only one with a mountain bike. As I checked my bike in, someone told me I was brave. It seemed as if everyone their knew each other. It was a little tight-knit community of triathletes from all over who were just used to seeing each other at races. Everyone was walking around checking out each others gear, and wishing each other good luck.
To tell the truth, I freaked out on the swim. Not because I was getting kicked or swam over, but because I got claustrophobic in the greenness of the lake. All you could see was green. So I side-stroked (not really a technical term) it the whole way with my head out of the water. I used more of my legs than I would have liked, but you live you learn. My first mistake? It was the first time I swam in a lake.
Then I was off on the bike, the hills were incredible, the down hills saved my legs for the next uphill, but I was understanding why someone was telling me I was brave. All the extra weight of my bike and the tread of my tires gripping the asphalt.
Luckily, I didn't get too far behind. And my cross country stint in high school really helped with the run. I ran my way into 3rd in my age group and took home a medal. I was shocked, tired and extremely excited. My goal was to finish. That was it - I was hooked. Now I spend my days scheming on how to get faster.
Off season workouts:
Mon: At lunch I go to a US Masters swim class (I very quickly got to a point I wasn't getting any better on my own) at night I go to Yoga
Tues: At lunch there is a spin class at my gym, and at night I again go to yoga
Wed: Lunch, swim class
Thurs: Spin class
Fri: Off or workout if I feel like it
Sat: Yoga
Sun: Swim and elliptical machine
I'm not running because of an injury while training for a marathon, I'll start running again in January. I feel like the yoga has really helped strengthen the muscles that support my knees. And of course, new running shoes always help.
My goal of going to the classes is to work on technique in the off-season, so when I really start training I can go all out and not worry as much about injury. I not only want to get faster, but I want to go faster longer. I'm trying to become more efficient.
My goals for 2005:
Finish my first Half Ironman in Lubbock Texas, do 3-4 more olympic distance triathlons. I'm going to return to Boerne and drop my time enough to win in my age group.
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