Reality Check: I'm REALLY bad!

Register. Commit to it. Here is the reality check: you are not too old, too decrepit, too heavy or any of those things. Be proud of the consistent training you have been doing.  Unless your goal is to be at the front of the pack, then I wouldn't worry about your speed.  You are out there, you are doing something that few people will ever attempt. The only failure I see would be to not go for it!  You can do it. Don't take up knitting (unless you really want something to do on your rest days).

As far as your running is concerned, a 10 minute mile is nothing to sneeze at. I would bet there are a huge number of people here who would kill to go that fast.

As far as your swimming, doing 200 yards continuously is a great place to be at this point.  If you could fit in one more swim per week, that would likely help a great deal.  Worst case, during the tri, you swim 200, roll over and do some backstroke and catch your breath, do another 200, etc.

Cycling is new to you. Keep at it, put in the miles, speed will increase.  The fact that you could do 12 miles without feeling wiped is a good sign.

Keep up the good training, and you will reach your goal of completing Danskin, and you will be a triathlete.

-Rob

Judging from the times you just gave, it's likely you'll be close to midpack at a Danskin race.  Look up last year's results from the race you're doing if you want further reassurance - you're doing great!!  There are women in my tri club who walk the entire run portion and didn't even know how to ride a bike at the start of this year, and they'll be doing the Danskin in Denver this summer.  You're leaps and bounds ahead of that in ability, and you have months more to train.

So go register - NOW!  Do not talk yourself out of this - you'll do great, and even more you'll be proud of yourself for finishing something that made you doubt your abilities.

You will be fine! You will finish! I promise. You might not win... but that's not your objective at this point...

There is no rule that states you HAVE to do freestyle for the entire swim. If you need to take a break, swim some breaststroke or dog paddle... flip over onto your back and do backstroke... I saw people doing this @ the Chicago Triathlon... One chick was a MEAN backstroker... I think she swam the whole swim leg backstroke... You are free to swim whatever stroke you wish... Do what's best for you... Maybe swim some freestyle, and break it up with some slower breaststroke... Or sidestroke... You can use the alternate strokes for sighting...

Bike... for all intents and purposes... just go ride your bike... You can certainly cover the distance! 13 mph isn't bad... and this race isn't against the person next to you... it's against yourself... so push push push through the bike... Don't worry about speed... just go the distance... you KNOW you can do it!!! You won't be riding in a pack of INTERMEDIATES... there will be women there in all shapes and sizes with all different skill sets... You'll smoke some... others will smoke you.

Run... IMHO a 31 minute 5K is not bad at all! It rivals my 5K PR! Get through the run... walk if you have to... or jog... You CAN do it! DEFINITELY! DEFINITELY! DEFINITELY!

I'm certain you can do it. You are NOT too old, decrepit or pitiful! NO WAY! (And knitting is for old ladies !!!) No offense to any BT knitters out there... I know you pack sharp thick needles....

I'm going to be checking your logs, now Gwendal. As long as you stay healthy and free of injury you're going to shine @ Danskin!!! I KNOW IT!!!

Whizzzzzzzzzzz

Edited by Whizzer 2005-04-28 12:23 PM

Dude, you expect to perform like Mario Cippolini (Italian cycling stud, Lance is SO overexposed ) the first time out? Giv it some time, Rome wasn't built in a day, yada yada

How are you setting up for a failure? Just thinking about this puts you ahead of at least 50% of the population, actually doing it puts you ahead of 99%.

Always remember the BT mantra:

DFL is better than DNF is better than DNS

You have13 weeks to train and improve. Sign up now to give your self a concrete goal and added motivation. Find the plans on this site and get after it.

AAAAHHHH, you hear the voice.  You know, the voice that tells you that you are not fast enough, strong enough, good enough to do the race.  That voice was screaming in my ear this past Sunday.  I looked around at all of the athletes before the race and asked myself, "why am I here, I clearly don't belong".  I told the voice to shut up and started the race. 

The voice returned on the swim when I got a lung full of water and flooded goggles (at around 400 meters).  It said, "raise your hand, crawl into a boat where they will take you to shore and give you a warm blanket".  I told the voice to shut up, rolled back over and continued swimming. 

The voice came back to me on the bike run.  "look, those people are passing you, why don't you just quit?"  Again, I told it to shut up and kept pushing. 

The voice repeated itself on the run.  "They marked the course wrong, this is too long for a 5K.  You're too slow, look at those people passing you.  Why don't you just go sit under the shade of that tree over there?" 

Well, you get the point. Tell the voice to shut up and go register for that race.  Also, expect that voice to come back to you again and again.  The voice is WRONG, you can do it.  You are stronger than the voice. 

AMEN SISTER!! You're making me tear up!!!

GO GO GO GO GO GO Gwendal!!!!

Whizzzzz

Actually (if I may agree with Tania), the largest age groups around here are the ones between 40 and 60. Similar to her, I could not run a block when I was 44 (eleven marathons since then), started cycling when I was nearly 46 (nearly 15,000 miles in four years since) and started swimming last year at the age of 48 (did my first tri two months later). The best is yet to come!

So, you're slow.......why should that keep you from doing the triathlon.....were you planning to win?

Look, the way I see it is that we are all our own biggest problems.

Some don't train right

Some train too much

Some race stupid (yours truly)

Some are plagued by doubt

What I have found is that getting over myself is what this whole tri-run-bike-swim thing is all about.

 IF I can make my schedule work, if I can make my body train, If I can keep my mind from letting me get stupid, if I can tell my voices (and you all know those voices) shut up...the race is gravy

Short answer......yep, you can do it, you know you can. You just have to let yourself.

And yes, it will be uncomfortable, scary, frustrating, and probably emotionally (as well as physically) draining. ........and you'll want to do it again.

Gwen, your running is very good.  Doing a 5K in half and hour is faster than I can muster and I've been running for over 20 years!  As has been confirmed already, don't worry about doing the bike leg.  You can do the distance and that is all that counts; you can work on your speed over time.  All you really have to concentrate on at this time is your swimming.  I would suggest that you hit the pool as often as possible and work on your endurance.  Do not set out to do a distance but rather a set amount of time.  Start your swim by slowing down...yes, slowing down!...and concentrate on your breathing.  If you get tired of doing the front crawl, switch to a butterfly or a sidestroke, whatever it takes to get you to do the time. 

Hi Gwendal,

From your description, I think we may be able to keep each other company for the entire race (although my swimming may be slightly faster).  I'm glad you registered the Danskin.  I'll see you there.

--DK

Delete duplicate.  Sorry.