It seems like this triathlon thing is really going to happen. Maggie's super psyched about it and maybe that'll translate to us going to the gym more often. In fact, we did our first triathlon workout today! Lots of swimming and then we added some core exercises from a rugby lift schedule we acquired back in college. I'm already sore tonight, so I can only imagine how I'm going to feel tomorrow. Hopefully it won't discourage me from going back to do some cycling tomorrow.
I went to the library today to check out a few training books to start a program since I haven't found anything online. There are a bunch, but I picked the most detailed one, so I hope it's the right way to go. I feel that you can't go wrong with just generally exercising even if it's not optimal for triathlon training. Since I'm not trying to be the best, and instead am striving just to finish, I think that this'll be good. It gives us a 12-week training regimen for a sprint triathlon, the "baby" as we call it since it's the easiest of them all: 750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run. It seems pretty pansy distance-wise so depending on how we feel during training, we may up our ambitions to the Olympic one: 1.5 k swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run. We'll see. I was pretty tired after swimming today, and that was only 500 m. Then again, it is only day one and so my endurance is bound to get better.
We even found one that we may register for: Rage in the Sage at Lake Mead just outside of Vegas on April 17th. That gives us just about 12 weeks to get ready and so it's the perfect time-frame. It's also in Vegas so afterwards we can go PARTY! We're even trying to get Ally to come and do it with us, even though I'm pretty sure she'd smoke our asses. Anywhos, now that we have a goal, we just have to work towards it.
I've also been looking at other programs out there and maybe possibly joining the Boulder Triathlon Club to get some advice and maybe even a bit of coaching. I know how to swim, but I'm pretty sure I'm fairly inefficient at it, so some guidance would definitely be helpful. So there's also the option of just taking a swim class come January at the Rec Center. I'm so used to being coached when I join new sports that it'd be weird just going at it alone without direction.
On that note, a friend of mine from high school did this program similar to Habitat Bicycle Challenge in that a charity sponsors you for an endurance event (you can pick from hikes to marathons to long cycles to triathlons) and you raise a certain amount of money for them. In exchange, you get coaching, a team environment, and flights and hotels paid for. By the way, it's called Team in Training (TNT for short) and has a chapter in Colorado. There are a few triathlons in Boulder/Denver/CO area but later in the summer. The group sponsors one on April 25th in Tampa Florida, so it'd also be a perfect timeline. The only problem is that it's an Olympic triathlon and I don't think I'd be ready for that considering my current level of fitness (or lack thereof). But, with the right coaches, which they provide, I think I can at least complete it, which is all I'm going for at the moment.
Another problem I'm finding with this triathlon business is that equipment is so damn expensive. I wish running did it for me since all you need for that is a good pair of running shoes. But for this new interest of mine, I'm gonna need a road bike since my scrappy ol' mountain bike just won't do. I'd also be pretty embarrassed if I showed up to an elite triathlon (which is what the Vegas one is) with a mountain bike while everyone else has a spiffy road bike. I don't like looking like I don't belong, and that would totally make me stick out like a sore thumb (I probably already would just by being overweight and all). I also don't have a wetsuit for the swimming thing and I'm pretty sure that they don't come very cheap. I'm still excited just to train if nothing else since it's slowly getting me off my ass and into a gym. And with the wetsuit, maybe I can find something on eBay or Craigslist for something really cheap.
OR I can do the TNT program and get a wetsuit for "free". At least I think that's how all that works. My aforementioned friend, Brianna, had pictures on Facebook where she had a spiffy new wetsuit with their logo on the chest, and so did everyone else on her team, so maybe that's one of the perks of joining. Maybe they'll give me a bike, too ;) Either way, it looks like a lot of fundraising, which I don't know if I can do since I really suck at it, but I also figure I have the whole rugby team to help me (hopefully) so maybe that'll be a good lead. On a completely other note, I think the CO TNT chapter is getting pretty shafted since the only cool triathlon to choose from is the Florida one, while the West Coast people (Washington, LA, San Fran, and San Diego, to name a few) have the option of going to Hawaii. Granted, they have to raise over $5000 each, but I'm still insanely jealous.
I still don't know exactly how this program works, or even if I can get into it (this weekend was the last round of info sessions so I hope it's not too late) so I shouldn't get my hopes up too much. I've emailed the coordinator lady for the triathlons (she was away at the info meeting tonight so hopefully she answers me tomorrow) and my friend to get some answers. Even so, this sounds like an awesome opportunity and I REALLY hope I get a chance to participate.
P.S. I was doing really good with the gym and all and then we ordered a pizza and I ate half of it. Oops. At least I went to the gym. That's one victory for today.
P.P.S. To add an unnecessary and premature worry (since I always have to have one), if I do get a wetsuit from TNT at the start of this journey, I'm pretty sure it's going to be a bit too big by the time the event really does happen. So what do I do then? Get a new one? Or have a saggy, non-aerodynamic piece of neoprene? Oh the problems I have...
