Read All Rules Carefully Before “Tri”-ing
You know already that I’ve only done two triathlons. Jersey Girl and Iron Girl. Each was considered a sprint triathlon but the only consistent thing about them was a 5K run. Jersey Girl was supposed to have a 300 yd. swim (it turned out to be shorter due to the weather) and an 11 mile bike ride. Iron Girl was a 1/3 mile (540ish yards), 15 mile bike ride and a 5K. Starts can be from the shore on in deep water for the swim portion. There can be other variations that may affect performance that you should be aware of.
Even with races that are Ironman and Half Ironman, you need to know the rules. Knowing the distance is generally not enough for you to be successful. Is there a long walk from parking to transition? How early do they open?
You get my points. There is enough to deal with on event day without being blindsided by something you could have handled earlier. Just my thoughts!
What is a Tread Start?
I have so much to learn about triathlon. I have inquired of people who have done the New Jersey State Triathlon about the event before I pay my money and sign up. First the swim is in a lake and I’m not crazy about lakes. But okay I can give it a tri Lol! Second it is a USTA sanctioned event and it’s timed. Only 35 minutes for the swim, which makes me a bit nervous. Even though I covered more distance in 32 minutes anything can happen and over 35 minutes from your start and you are pulled from the water and dq’d. I would be devastated to say the least. From what I gather you have about three hours to complete the ride and four hours to complete the whole event. They close the course at 11:30 am. That shouldn’t be a problem but I’m anxious about the timed aspect. Now I’m told it’s a “tread” start. Do you know what that is?
You actually start the race in deep water and swim out to the start and tread water until the horn goes off! What? Well this will be a new challenge if I decide to tri it.
Maintaining Fitness in the Off Season
Today I went to the park for the first time in weeks. Actually, I’ve been lazy since Iron Girl on September 7, 2014. Once the day was over I had nothing to train for. My next event whatever it will be won’t be until next summer (if my knees cooperate). So I just haven’t had the urgency to get out there. So this morning I decided if it wasn’t raining I would take a quick walk and come home. My second round (1/2 mile track) I ran into an old friend and started walking with her. Did three miles and called it quits. Well I hate to say it but my legs have been sore all day. Wow! I know that I have to get back in the groove and put together an off-season schedule. I may not start formal Triathlon training until spring but there are lots of things I can do until then. For sure I can’t go weeks without walking again.
What do you do in the off seasons to keep fit?
You Know Your Addicted When………
You off and on watch Ironman Kona on-line from early morning until late night and are thrilled watching people finish. Now an Ironman is out of my realm of possibility but it is still thrilling to think about what it takes to do one. I see now how people escalate from sprints to olympics to 70.3 to full Ironman events. How far can we push ourselves? I look at olympic distances and say to myself I can train for the swim and ride but I can’t run so walking 6.2 miles is out of the question. Or is it? OMG what am I saying. After both of my events this year I swore that I was finished. As the day wore on I had rationalized that I just needed more training. Well that’s true. But I am way ahead of myself. Let’s just get through the winter and then…..
Take a Deep Breath
JFK with roof rolled back
Okay new season of training begins. I think I’m going to sign up for the New Jersey State Triathlon in July 2015. Don’t tell anybody but I think so. So I have to be serious from now on.
On the Black Triathlete’s Facebook page I saw mention of the website SwimSmooth.com. and visited it. It’s a nice site breaking down all the parts of a triathlon. I am concentrating on the swim. Lesson one for me is breathing. Am I breathing out the entire time my head is in the water? Or am I like many swimmers holding my breath?
This week I am working on the breathing part. It’s worth looking at even if you are an experienced swimmer. Blow bubbles exhaling unless you are turning your head to breath. I bi-lateral breathe every third stroke but yesterday I tried every five and seven breaths. Interesting.
Monday Mantra – The What, When & Where of Starting
Merry Monday! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.
Today’s quote is from T. Roosevelt:
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Teddy was a straight to the point guy. I love this quote. It’s about starting something now, and not waiting until everything lines up. It’s easy to push our dreams off to some magical time in the future. I will start on X, as soon as I have the time, the money, the energy, the education. The problem is unless you get to work on your dream and build some momentum, those excuses aren’t going to change. Don’t wait for…
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People We Have To Get A Grip!!!!!
Today was the first really nice day we’ve had in this part of New Jersey this week. A crisp, clear fall day. After my morning swim I headed out on Route 22 to run some errands. As is generally the case at midday there was a lot of traffic. It was basically stop and go and people were attempting to enter the flow of traffic from the side roads which always slows things down. A gentleman in a red convertible decided to enter the traffic without stopping and caused a Mercedes to swerve. The Mercedes driver honked and gestured and we continued on for a few feet when in traffic, the convertible driver threw his car into park and jumped out yelling and waving his arms the whole time. Mind you cars were moving all around him. The Mercedes driver rolled down his window and yelled back and I was contemplating where the heck I could go since I was right behind them. The convertible driver jumped back in his car and proceeded to drive off throwing things out of the back of the car.
People we have to get a grip on our lives, our stress, our issues just get a grip period. We are so angry and high-strung that the simplest things can set us off. This ended safely but it could have been different. I wished that I could have made a video of the incident for the convertible drive to review in a quieter time. Maybe he could have seen how ridiculous he seemed. Maybe not though. My advice is start walking, running, riding or swim like me. Let that anger out in a positive way. Anyway think the next time someone ticks you off. Consider the consequences before you act. It probably isn’t worth it!
Last Days of the Garden
Summer is over and my garden is pretty much done. I didn’t have to buy a bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, eggplant, yellow summer squash, collard green or Kale for months. We stopped fighting our resident bunny rabbit and gave him the lettuce and cabbage (he just wouldn’t leave no matter what we did) my husband even tried a Bugs Bunny trap complete with a carrot and he wouldn’t fall for it. Anyway the universe said share and we decided to. Plus he’s kinda cut cotton tail and all. Great produce summer any way!!
Tasty and pretty
Out of my garden
Happy New Year to all celebrating this week!
Slow, Easy Walk in the Park
Yesterday for only the second time since my September 7, 2014 triathlon, I put on my sneakers and went for a walk. I decided to take my time and just enjoy the park without the pressure of a training schedule. It was nice. I actually did the track which we call the red carpet which goes around a very pretty lake.
Weequahic Lake – picture by
Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger
I was able to spend time thinking about random thoughts and not worrying about how fast I was walking. Spoke to lots of folks. We are a very friendly group, looked for turtles ( they are very big) and decided whether to go all the way around which involves climbing a very steep hill lovingly called Dead Mans Hill. For the second time this year I decided to go all the way around instead of turn around like I usually do and with a lot of huffing and puffing I climbed the hill. When I got back to my car I realized that it had been a very enjoyable walk. Slow for sure but who cares. I stretched the legs and I’ll be back tomorrow. Good day in the park.
First Steps the Hardest 