I finally got in the pool today for my first triathlon swimming session. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but it was quite different than I had imagined.

To preface, I feel like I am in pretty darn good shape. I have been doing a fair amount of running, biking, and biking then running to get the feel for transitioning. In fact last week, I biked 15mi and ran 3mi right afterward. You may be thinking 2/3 legs, not bad. That’s what I thought.

Well I got into the pool today and started swimming, I really have no guide or pace since this is my first training/workout swim in a very long time [read 6th grade]. I had to limit myself to 100m iterations and then a short rest. It was quite a workout, but I think the breathing really got me. It’s a different workout when you have to hold your breath and try to establish a breathing rythym that is determined fully by your ability to get your head out of the water long enough to take a breath and not suck in any water.

I’m glad I didn’t wait longer because I’ve got some work to do to get back into a swimming mode… I suppose I could always resort to the Elementary Backstroke.

Tina came home one day proclaiming that she wanted a bike and that she was going to compete in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon. I brushed it off and thought good for you. Sounds like a good fitness goal. Well, I think I’ve caught the bug and frankly I needed a little extra motivation to get back to the gym and work towards something. I decided I should train and “compete” as well.

We’ll be doing the mini course which is a .4mi swim, 15mi bike, and 3 mi run. I think the swimming will be toughest part for me. I was a strong swimmer in my younger years, but haven’t really done much of it for a long time. I’ll be sure to spend plenty of time in the pool over the next 4 months.

Yesterday was my first real training day. I don’t have a training guide so I am going to wing it. I biked for 10mi and then ran for 2mi. It was a darn good workout and I feel like I could have had the endurance to bike all 15 and run all 3, but that’s easy to say now. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got work to do but it was refreshing to know I wasn’t starting at square 1.

Next on my list, a new bike, running shoes, and swim googles…. who knows maybe this will become a hobby and someday I’ll make it up to the Olympic course or even (gasp) the famed Ironman (It’s at least an excuse to go to Hawaii :))

Update:

Shoes… Check

Googles… Check