And in the beginning...

I've known about, or more accurately "of", triathlon for a long time. Amongst my many (many!) childhood memories, is lying on the floor watching television coverage of the Ironman in Kona with my mother. I can remember thinking that what they were doing was truly amazing, and informing my mother (in no uncertain terms) "one day, I'm going to do the Ironman".



Well….almost 30 years later (emphasis on "almost" please - I'm old, but not "old old") and I'm beginning a journey that I hope will one day see me in Kona (not just sampling the coffee!). Being the impatient sort of person I am, I'm hoping it won't be too long, but similarly, being the practical, rational (at least sometimes!?) sort of person I am, I know it's probably best if I wait a while before trying to swim 2.4 miles (3.86km), bike 112miles (180.25km) and run 26.2 miles (42.2km). I would say something about "learning to walk before you run" comes to mind, but in my case, it's probably more "learning to doggy paddle before you crawl"…(ok, maybe I can do a bit more than doggy paddle, but I'm not sure I'd call it a crawl either!!)


In terms of "why triathlon?", for me I think it's all about the challenge. If running a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or marathon (all things I've done in the past) is a good challenge, in my books, a run combined with a bike is an even better challenge! As to adding a swim to the mix, errr….great idea, and in my case, adding a swim definitely ups the challenge factor considerably (my typical pool related activities during the past few years having been pretty much limited to (a) sipping (perhaps too many) cocktails poolside; and (b) jumping in to the pool after hours of baking myself silly in the sun. I'm pretty positive neither (a) or (b) will provide me with any competitive advantage.


Now before you get the wrong idea and think I'm some grossly unfit, City bod with dreams well beyond her abilities, I should mention that I have been a committed "gym rat" for roughly the last 15 years. I'm typically in the gym first thing in the morning (weekends included) for anywhere from 60mins to 3+ hours, doing a wide variety of things, including "big heavy weights" (yes girls can lift big and heavy!!), kettle bells, circuit training, CrossFit, running, rowing, cycling and swimming. While I've pretty much always been active in some way (lots of competitive sport as a child - think figure skating, softball, BMX, basketball, cross country, field hockey and others I'm sure I've forgotten!) it's fair to say I'm looking for what I think is greater focus to my fitness activities; a "real" way to measure and demonstrate (what I hope will be) my improving fitness, and I'm convinced that triathlon is (for me), the perfect way to do this. Ok, so maybe it also appeals to my competitive side (ok, extremely competitive side!). Then of course there's the shopping…triathlon presents just SO MANY opportunities to shop (which of course are not always necessities), in my books, yet another plus!


In terms of my 2010 kit:


BIKE: On the bike front I've got a Focus tri bike I got last year (had planned on doing the London Triathlon last year, but, for a variety of reasons (none of which I'll bore you with) I didn't, nor any other tris (which is yet another story for another day) and a Focus Cayo 105 that I got on sale at Wiggle (such a great sale I couldn't possibly pass it by! - and no, I'm not sponsored by Wiggle - - unless of course they want to, in which case I'll insert the relevant disclaimer/notice re my interest). I like the tri bike, but am not terribly comfortable with the shifters on the ends of the aero bars - hence the road bike purchase (that and the sale allowed me to justify it in my mind - amazing the things I can convince myself I "need" or "make sense"). I'm currently much happier riding the Cayo 105 - probably down to my finding it more comfortable (i.e. not hunkered down in an aero position for protracted periods of time) more than it being a "better" bike than the tri bike. I'm sure (hoping) I'll get good use out of the tri bike at some point (apart from it being the designated "turbo bike", which admittedly seems a tad on the extravagant side…). In fairness, buying the tri bike may have been a slightly ill informed decision (but again, I got a great price on Wiggle!) in that I probably should have gone for the slightly more versatile road bike (as I did this year). I've got some clip on aero bars as well as some Crank Brothers Candy X pedals (yes, I know they're mountain bike pedals, but I've found them to be one of the easiest pedals to clip in and out of, and, in the interest of trying to keep my tumbles to the curb, road, etc.to a minimum, I've opted to go with the Candy Xs) to pimp the 105 - need to do this before the next Tri (Monday 3 May 2010) - Thames Turbo Race #2.


RUN: In terms of running kit, I've been running in Asics Kinsei's but, based on them feeling something akin to bricks on my feet during my first Tri (Monday 5 April - - an experience I will most definitely post about!), I've switched to Saucony "Grid Sinisters" - like the name, loved the price (good discount - I am most definitely the Queen of discount!), ok with the colour (they do have a bit of a "hey look at me" factor to them - which, given how slow I (sometimes) run, isn't probably the best - though I suppose it means that people might be looking/staring at me because of my really cool shoes (as opposed to my heavy, laboured "is she ok" type breathing…)) and find them to be quite light and as the running/tri mags would say "responsive"; it's almost like I don't want to run slow in them because I know they're not meant for slow running - -ok, maybe a bit of an overstatement, but hey..


SWIM: Nothing too exotic or unusual here - tri shorts (2XU or Quintana Roo) with tri top, ear plugs (I SO hate getting water stuck in my ears - but have found "Swim Ear" to be great when I do) and Speedo pink (I simply LOVE pink!) swim cap (in the interest of trying to avoid turning my hair green or becoming chlorine ravaged).


TRAINING: I started my "Tri Training" for 2010 in the third week of February based on a programme I put together based on a variety of sources including Joe Friel's "Your First Triathlon" (and excellent book!). After my first tri in April, I've changed my training somewhat (I was REALLY surprised at how difficult I found the tri - given I can quite "easily" do a 3+ hour session in the gym) to incorporate workouts at a much greater intensity (based on ideas contained in 4 week speed plan article "Triathlon 220" ran around the time of my first tri). I've most definitely been working out harder (not necessarily longer) than I was before. I am sincerely hoping my efforts will see me cut at least some time from my time for the Tames Turbo Race #1. Speaking of which....


RACES: My first triathlon was the Thames Turbo Race #1 - a sprint distance consisting of a 426m swim, 21km bike and a 5km run. My total time was 1:28:50 (30th in my age group of 49) - ok (I guess), but I think there's a fair bit of, shall we say, "room for improvement".


Race 1 Swim: My swim was about as bad as you're going to get (without drowning). After about 2 lengths (of the Hampton Open Air Pool) my goggles (Aqua Sphere Ladies Vista) started to fill and fog (despite my having sprayed them with "Aqua Sphere Antifog Solution" before leaving the flat). Maybe there was too much of a time gap between leaving the flat and my entering the pool; or it was the (VERY) cold morning air; either way, the fogging (and filling) meant that I had to stop in the shallow end to remove my goggles, "spit and smear" (could have saved myself £5!), put my goggles back on and carry on. I'd really hoped to be able to do at least every other length as crawl (or my version of it) but after the first length, with my heart pounding and breathing going to pot, I quickly reverted to "breaststroke" (i.e. my version of it which doesn't involve putting your face in the water). It's fair to say I did feel a (momentary) bit of "shame" at having to abandon crawl for breaststroke, but at the same time I also noticed others around me (we were at the back end of the first wave - i.e. those people with the slowest predicted swim times) breaststoking, so felt a bit better about my decision - at least I wasn't the only one! Similarly, I quickly came to the conclusion that it was better to survive the swim (through whatever technique (or lack thereof!) necessary) than attempt to carry on crawling. In hindsight, I think I may have panicked a bit, I probably could have crawled just a bit further. My swim time (which includes T1 (which was pretty high on the comedy factor - note to self - do NOT try to put t-shirt over helmetted head!!) was 15:22 - 393rd overall and 46th in my age group of 49 entrants. Me thinks Kona is some way off.



Race 1 Bike: I "jogged" from T1 with my bike (which really seemed to want to go in a direction different to where I was headed -- how do the elites make it look so easy??) out to the road where you mount your bike. Got on and started pedalling (as (hopefully) you'd expect!). Having had a few tumbles with my clipless pedals on my mountain bike, I opted (for my first Tri) to just go with plain pedals - no cages, no straps - just my trainers and the cheap plastic pedals that come with the bike. I felt quite strong on the bike, and managed to pass quite a few people. I finished the bike in 42:28 (which again includes the T2 time - which thankfully I found to be a bit more of a straightforward transition!) - 178th overall and 12th in my age group - -a MUCH better result than the swim.


Race 1 Run: Despite following the advice I'd received (and read) about spinning your legs in an easy gear at the end of the bike leg, setting out on the run, my legs felt pretty heavy. Obviously I pushed hard on the bike, but my legs felt a lot more tired than I was expecting. My Kinsei's (although great shoes), felt like 5lb bricks strapped to my feet. I was far more tired than I had expected to be - afterall, I did HOURS more than this in the gym!! Quite soon into the run I decided it was just about "surviving" and "getting around". As some of the people I'd managed to pass on the bike started passing me on the run, I became increasingly disappointed, but more in a "I'll do better next time" way than a "I'm no good" way. Seeing the 1km marker, I was baffled - why did they put the 1km at what SURELY had to be AT LEAST 3km? Sadly, they didn't - it just felt that way. I carried some Jelly Babies ("JB") onto the run from my bento box (no points for spotting the Tri newby with "all the gear and no idea"..) convinced I'd need some for energy after the bike leg. I had the first JB shortly into the run but didn't like the sweet gooey mess it left in my mouth so spit it out; had a second which I partially chewed and allowed to "disolve" in my mouth (much better this way) and the third JB who I came to name "Mr Orange". No idea why other then (a) he (I'm assuming he, though never really checked) was orange and (b) I was pretty tired (and probably felt in need of "a friend" - needs must and all that). I trundled on, carrying "Mr Orange" around the course, eventually (how can 5km feel so LONG!) crossing the line with a run time of 31:00mins - 364th overall and 35th in my age category. For his efforts, Mr Orange got eaten shortly after crossing the line.


Race 1 Impressions:

(Race) I did my first Tri and I'm pleased that I did (it's no longer in my rather large "one day" pile). The race was really well organised, the marshalls extremely helpful, friendly and willing to answer what I'm guessing must (sometimes) seem like pretty basic questions. Equally important (in my books) was that the "race population" (by which I mean the participants in the race) seemed quite friendly and extremely inclusive - I saw everything from top elites (on their VERY expensive bikes (I am SUCH a sucker for the kit!!)) to (what I'm assuming were) first timers on mountain/hybrid bikes. I really enjoyed the event - so much so that I signed up for races 2 (3 May), 3 (31 May) and 4 (30 August) in the Thames Turbo 2010 series.

(Me) I found the race much harder and more challenging than I'd expected. I had assumed (wrongly!!) that the hours I spend in the gym swimming, cycling and running every week would translate into my finding the event (of what I estimated would take me approximately 1.5 hours) to be relatively "easy" - I didn't. I'm sure the time I spend in the gym helps, but it didn't help as much as I'd thought (and hoped) it would. Maybe I wasn't training intensely enough, or maybe gym time just doesn't quite translate to biking and running on real roads (as opposed to stationary cycling and running on a treadmill).


ACTION PLAN:

(1) Up the intensity of my sessions;

(2) work on my swim;

(3) work on the bike to run transition;

(4) get comfortable with being uncomfortable; and

(5) t-shirt before helmet!