Triathlon Training

My triathlon training is coming along quite nicely, and things aren't nearly as dire as when I finally returned to triathlon training almost two weeks ago.

I'm feeling noticeably stronger and more comfortable on the bike. I went out to ride Parmer with some friends last night and felt great despite the heat and wind. I struggled on the hills (my quads reminded me that I hate hills), but I think (hope?) improvement will come with more practice. I find myself actually looking forward to riding again, and that is huge for me – motivation has always been my hinder when it comes to cycling.

I'm still feeling "meh" about swimming, but I have a thousand excuses for why - none of which are related to my suckitude, of course. So rather than kicking my butt training for the swim portion of the race, I'd rather come to terms with how slow I am and just accept the fact that I might get passed by someone in three waves behind me in a race. I went out to Pure Austin on Monday afternoon and very comfortably swam 2250 meter in open water, so endurance isn’t the problem. I’m just not swimming any faster year after year, despite swimming several times a week. The Georgetown High School coach has been giving me some tips, but it is just really hard for me to grasp swimming technique. I figure as long as I can finish the swim without drowning then I’m golden.

And then there's my beloved, wonderful, fabulous running. Yes, it's been hot-as-all-getup and humid to boot, but I've been hitting, if not exceeding, my target paces. Dan’s always told me that he thinks biking helps my running, so maybe he’s right.

I’m aiming for my first long (for me) brick workout of the season this Saturday – 40 miles biking/5 miles running (too bad that used to be a piece of cake)…we’ll see how it goes…