1. Apparently all of these triathlons start out with swimming. In the ocean. Where its deep, and you had better know how to swim less you risk the embarassment of some guy in a kayak rescueing you and wondering how you ever thought you were going to get to the bit with the bikes and the running. Being that I haven't tried to swim more than 10' in any direction since I was a kid I need work in this department. And since I was always too fat to want to wear a bathing suit I'm way out of practice. So first order of business is to change my gym membership to the Y (oh how I will miss you lovely BSC!) so I can have access to pools. Next up after that is to find a swimming coach. Which I have a couple of names written down for I just need to reach out to them and line it up. So thats swimming covered. I have pool access, I'll get some lessons, and I have a training partner lined up too who wants to swim together. That and there are also some organized training groups I'm starting to hear about that I'll join when I know I can keep up with them.
2. Then theres the bike bit. I now have a bike. I'll cover that purchase in another post. And although I have lots of room for improvement with this bike, I know I've picked the perfect tool for the job. So now I just need to progress from being able to pedal from point A to point B to learning how to use my legs for the entire pedal stroke (not just the bits where your feet are pressing down), get more efficient, get more aerodynamic, and get comfortable on the bike. I also need to get used to putting my now boney ass on a seat the size of a teaspoon.
3. Then theres the running bit. Which I'm so not worried about. Well ok... I'm a little worried about my foot injury but if what the doc says holds true after a month off it will be fine. Really I'm just worried about how my legs will react to running after they have just gotten off a bike. But that will come with time and after lots of "brick" workouts where you do more than one discipline at a time so those transitions start to feel more natural.
So I've got good training goals for my initial progress. And I've got enought books and training manuals here that I can build a comprehensive training plan for myself once I get the basics down.
So now I know what I want to do with training... its time to start gearing up! I had heard the phrase "If you thought running was expensive you should try getting into Triathlons!". They weren't kidding. Today I heard another triathlete say that the 4th sport in triathlon's is shopping!
So far I've had to purchase:
Swim goggles (two pairs, primary and backup)
2 Fancy form fitting bathing suits (no, not speedos... more like bike shorts)
Gym Towels as my new gym doesn't have towel service : (
Bicycle
Air Pump
CO2 cannisters for on road tire inflation
seat bag to store bike stuff in while riding
watter bottles
multi tool to fix said bike with while riding
spare tube
5 biking outfits (if your gonna do it, do it right, and look good doing it!)
helmet x 2
bike shoes
pedals
biking gloves
emergency tire patch kit
And of course theres the steady supply of energy bars, GU gels, cliff shot blocks, Whey Protein, and gatorade that fuels all these workouts. And also of course the ridiculously expensive grocery bills. Is it me or does eating healthy non processed food not shot up with homones, fillers, and preservatives cost three times as much as eating junk?
I think thats it so far...
Still left to buy are:
wetsuit
Trisuit. (a hybrid type outfit that you can wear to swim, bike, and run in without having to change clothes)
Most of the shopping trips have been uneventfull, but the bike one was rather good... so there will be a seperate entry for that one.
So... we've got some intial goals, and we've got enough gear to get started! Time to get moving!
No comments:
Post a Comment