Another newbie...trying for 1st tri

Hi all!

A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have imagined that I’d be checking out sites like this. Several gals I’ve met in the locker room and on mountain bike club rides mentioned that they do triathlons here in Tucson. I checked out a few websites and found that there are several events here in southern AZ. When I was out on travel on Tuesday last week, I picked up “Triathlons for Women” by Sally Edwards from a bicycle-themed booth in the Denver airport. I read the whole thing in a few days, and started to feel like I could try a race. Thinking back to the gals that I ran into, I thought that if they could do it, I probably could too.

The next race in Tucson is Oct. 17th. It’s a sprint race with a 825 yd swim, 12 mi bike, and 3 mi run. My goal is to try it and finish, and have the most fun possible (not worry about time). But I want to be prepared, and don’t want to kill myself. Biking is my strongest sport (I mountain bike, race cylocross in the fall, and commute once in awhile), and 12 mi won’t be too bad, even with a swim before it. I’m not too worried about training for the 3 mi run since I can walk portions if I have to. It’s the swim that’s got me nervous. I suck at swimming, so I’ve mapped out a training plan (based off of several resources on the web) to work my way to that distance before October. I’ve also got the biking and running planned in there as well.

We got back into town from vacation yesterday afternoon. I went ahead and checked out the local pool, and bought a punch pass. Then I went and got a new 1-piece swimsuit and cap (already had goggles). This morning I got up and headed to the pool, and did 200 yds before work, per the plan. Geez, right now I can’t imagine swimming 4 times that distance. I don’t know where the enthusiasm is coming from, but I figured I’d better act on it now while it’s there.

The big thing that has me worried is committing to the race. The website says entries fill fast, and usually closes 4-6 weeks before the race. Yikes! At that time I’ll be half way through the training plan, if I stick with it. The worst thing is that they require an estimated 800 yd swim time, to figure out what wave you should start in. By the recommended 4-6 wk entry time, I’ll only be up to 500 yds or so. So I guess I’ll have to do some extrapolation. Still, maybe if I sign up at the recommended time, the financial commitment will be extra incentive.

The main reason I want to do this is to try something new and have fun, and to help my fitness for my other sports. In late November the cyclocross season starts, and I think the extra fitness from swimming will help my cyclocross racing. Plus, I should be able to use some of the cyclocross skills in the tri. I’ll be able to do the flying leap onto the bike from a jog out of the transition area, and a wicked dismount from the bike heading to the run. I also roadrace motorcycles, and the tri training should really help with that. For me, I need a goal like an event to work towards. If I just try to swim, bike, or run for the sake of staying fit, I tend to stray from the routine and easily skip workout days.

This site seems really cool, and I stumbled onto it by entering “triathlon training log” in Google. But there’s a ton more info and features on here than just the log, so I’m going to try to soak up as much as possible. Plus, the more I learn, the more I get motivated to stick with it.

So hopefully in a few months I’ll be part of the group that has tried a tri!

P-)