Triathlon Update

The triathlon is just a few weeks away...less than a month. Getting some anxiety about it. But things are progressing.
* I go swimming twice a week. We leave at 5:30 AM to hit the 6:00 masters swim class. Dang, that's early!! When I first signed up for this big to-do I figured that I more or less knew how to swim. That it was a matter of building endurance. Ummm. Not really the case. The swim coach kindly informed me that my self-taught swimming style was moving me through the water more like a barge than a speedboat. She taught me the right skills and form over the past few weeks and I now, at age 35, actually know how to swim correctly. Now it really is a matter of building up endurance. Swimming is a lot harder than I expected it would be but I'm making great progress and I'm pretty proud of myself.

* I've been trying to run twice a week as well. I've never run more than a mile and a half so running three was, once again, going to be a matter of building endurance. I've learned a few things. One...I can't run with other people. I always worry that I'm slowing them down and I feel like I have to make conversation which I can't do when I'm breathing so heavily. Two...I LOVE my ipod! Music helps tremendously. And three...I've learned that I have a running pattern. When I first start running it's great...I love the music in my ears, the cool morning weather, the way my body feels. That lasts about 3 minutes. Then it's AWFUL! But if I can just work through that for the next few minutes I get into my groove where I can just GO. My breathing and my stride both even out and I'm good for awhile. I did 2.8 miles on Saturday. Getting there!

* I bought my bike this past week. I've been researching and test riding for the past month and finally settled on a Jamis Ventura Race Femme. It looks like this:
Despite my fears, I had them put clipless pedals on. I was rather scared that I would fall over. Everyone I talked to told me that OF COURSE I would fall over trying to get used to getting out of my clips. That everyone does at least once. Was that supposed to make me feel better? I guess it was designed to prepare me and to reassure me that I didn't need to be embarassed when it happened. So, anxiety mounting, I tried it out today. And wow, it was so much easier than I had expected. I had built it up in my head to be something awful. I rode around the neighborhood for an hour, stopping and starting and getting used to putting my feet in and then pulling them back out. I was starting to think maybe I would get away with not ever falling! But then, right at the end of my ride, I stopped at the neighbors house to check on the kids... I pulled my left foot out so I could lean to that side, using that leg as a kickstand of sorts. But while putting that foot down I somehow lost my balance and, as if in slow motion, I tipped over to my right side...not a thing I could do about it! I scraped my knee a tiny bit. Didn't hurt at all. Was just disappointed that I couldn't say I'd never fallen. So, initiation complete, I'm set to start riding. And let me tell you, it was a blast!