My first Triathlon!!

[musicgal28]

Hey everyone,

After telling my parents and my best friends, I am now telling my "support group"... I have officially registered for my first Triathlon!!!

It is sprint distance, August 3rd, in Philadelphia! And it is for women only. Supposedly it caters towards first timers.

As soon as I figure out my training schedule, I will post it, and keep you updated as well. (Probably won't really start training until June...but still...something to look forward to!)

[jsejt]

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!

The Tri will bite and you'll be hooked! Good Luck.

[kelwend]

Enjoy it

An advice use your leg to switch bike-run-bike-run ...

Try to find how you body react to the transition.
Some have to change the gear before start running, lower your RPM with bigger gear (it was the best for me) and for the running see if it is easier for you to start really fast or increase you speed progressivelly.

[yvonne]

Hey everyone,

After telling my parents and my best friends, I am now telling my "support group"... I have officially registered for my first Triathlon!!!

It is sprint distance, August 3rd, in Philadelphia! And it is for women only. Supposedly it caters towards first timers.

As soon as I figure out my training schedule, I will post it, and keep you updated as well. (Probably won't really start training until June...but still...something to look forward to!)

there are some really great websites offering free training plans for different tri distances.

a pretty good book to check out is Sally Edwards' Triathlons for Women (http://www.amazon.com/Triathlons-Women-Training-Equipment-Nutrition/dp/1931382050/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201388258&sr=8-1). Lots of good stuff in there are about training schedules, nutrition, etc.

best of luck! and whatever you decide, honor your training plan!

[like2bike]

Hey everyone,

After telling my parents and my best friends, I am now telling my "support group"... I have officially registered for my first Triathlon!!!

It is sprint distance, August 3rd, in Philadelphia! And it is for women only. Supposedly it caters towards first timers.

As soon as I figure out my training schedule, I will post it, and keep you updated as well. (Probably won't really start training until June...but still...something to look forward to!)

Oh that is TERRIFIC! I have secretly fantasized about doing one of these, and I'm too chicken! I commend you! Can't wait to hear about your training, once you start. Yes, please post as you go--it will be great to follow you along virtually. This takes GUTS. Good for you!

[Britspin]

Like2 do it make that fantasy a reality, it really isn't so hard..after all the first one is the one you just want to finish, after that you get to decide how hard its gonna be!
s for musicgal, start training now...at least in your head, visualise see the steps you need to take oh & read this months Triathlete Magazine good beginners section.

[like2bike]

Thanks for the great, honest advice, Brit. You've managed to make me start to think harder about this and get more serious about it. Really. Thank you. :)

[sandy]

Hey girl, if Oprah can run a marathon you can do a tri. ( this is what I always tell myself before chickening out of doing one):D

[SpinBob]

Lori,
There's a marathon in Akron in the fall, I'm in if you're in. We can both run in it and stay at Danielle's house. ;)

[like2bike]

Lori,
There's a marathon in Akron in the fall, I'm in if you're in. We can both run in it and stay at Danielle's house. ;)
Hmmmm....tempting...I have butterflies just thinking about it. Bob can you send me the info? I'm not a very good runner at ALL....I can bike, I can't swim that well, but dammit if they had an inline skating portion I could rock it!

[musicgal28]

I am all over the mental preparedness. That's what made me take the first step to register! (I had to come to terms with swimming in the Schyullkill (I think thats how its spelled...) in Philly.

Do you think I get a copy of triathlete at borders? I sure hope so...

[cfoam4me]

Make the dream come true Lori, I know you can do it!

[like2bike]

You are so sweet Mary! Thanks for the vote of confidence and for your friendship. :)

[y-guy]

Sprint distance Tri in Youngstown end of May. Swim in a pool, bike and run through the park. Lots of first timers. You can definitely do this. More info at www.steelvalleytriclub.org (http://www.steelvalleytriclub.org) And you WILL be hooked.

[monical1]

Congratulations, Musicgal! I've never done one either. I've only been mildly curious about doing one, hmmm.... you all are making my curiosity a little stronger.:);)

[musicgal28]

All right everyone. So not only am I doing the Triathlon in August, but I am also doing a 10 mile race in May. I will be doing it for the third year in a row!!

My goals are:
- to finish and to not be the last one
- decrease overall finishing time (last year I finished in 2 hours and 15 minutes)
- to not overtrain
- increase endurance overall, including swimming endurance, so that I am ready to start triathlon training within 2-3 weeks after Broad Street Run
- To continue teaching Spinning, Tues, Wed and Thurs without interfering with my training

I have 10 weeks to train, starting February 25th. I'm working into very slowly. Taking it one mile at a time, and one week at a time. Attached is my training plan. Let me know if you have any thoughts!!

[Funhog]

Musicgal,

this is a big part of setting goals and increasing your chances of achieving them - telling everyone about it! Congratulations for doing that. I have no doubt that you can do this, and do it well.

Take note everyone - if you want to accomplish something, I mean really accomplish something, first commit to it yourself, then tell your family and friends, and everyone on this forum! It will solidify your resolve.

j

[Britspin]

I still have the Triathlete beginners guide if you didn't get it..I can mail it if you need it.

[Funhog]

All right everyone. So not only am I doing the Triathlon in August, but I am also doing a 10 mile race in May. I will be doing it for the third year in a row!!

My goals are:
- to finish and to not be the last one
- decrease overall finishing time (last year I finished in 2 hours and 15 minutes)
- to not overtrain
- increase endurance overall, including swimming endurance, so that I am ready to start triathlon training within 2-3 weeks after Broad Street Run
- To continue teaching Spinning, Tues, Wed and Thurs without interfering with my training

I have 10 weeks to train, starting February 25th. I'm working into very slowly. Taking it one mile at a time, and one week at a time. Attached is my training plan. Let me know if you have any thoughts!!


Another part of setting goals is to keep the verbiage always in the positive. Here's an example of what that would look like for your above mentioned goals:
- to finish strong and within my capacities
- to complete the race in 2 hrs 5 minutes
- to train wisely and to listen closely to my body, making adjustments in my training program if needed. I will back off if it is necessary, knowing that by doing that, my body's infinite wisdom will adjust to the training load and keep me always moving forward.
- following the Broad Street Run, I will switch my focus to the triathlon training, increasing my swimming endurance
- to use Spinning as cross training, increasing my overall endurance. To know when I must teach off the bike as I get closer to the event(s) in order to focus my attention on the specifics of my event or if my training load demands it.

And use daily affirmations beginning now to instill the strong belief that you have everything you need to complete this event very strongly, as well as visualizations to imagine yourself completing it smiling, feeling strong, and in front of a lot of people! Your mind does not know the difference between an actual event and an imagined event, if you instill it on the mind enough times. This has been proven.

Back in 1993, I did my first mountain bike race - a boyfriend talked me into doing it. I was living in Atlanta at the time, and this was up in North Carolina. I hadn't trained very well, hadn't done the course, didn't have enough to eat. My only goal was not to be last. I finished, you guessed it, second to last (15 out of 16, and I beat a girl wearing a skirt). It was the most painful thing I'd ever done, and I threw my bike down at the end and swore "NEVER, NEVER AGAIN will I do something like that to my body!!"

Once the pain subsided, the competitive part of me started thinking, hmmmm, maybe if I trained properly...

3 weeks later, I did my second one, and did much, much better (ah, grasshopper...preparation does work)! Later that summer, I actually started doing really well.

So, watch out what you wish for....you might just get it!