a mock triathlon
I celebrated the fourth by doing my first mock triathlon. It wasn’t anything challenging – a 30 minute swim, 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. But I did get a taste of what triathlon had to offer.
And loved it.
Swimming: Open water swimming is a lot different than swimming in the pool. I realized my split-personality stroke was extremely dependent on that little line in the bottom of the pool to keep me swimming in the right direction. Take that line away and, well, I seem to have a tendency to swim left. But other than that little inability to swim in a straight line issue, open-water swimming was a breeze. It is much more enjoyable than swimming in a pool because I didn’t have to turn every 25-50 M. Our swim on Tuesday was just under a mile – I would have loved to have been able to swim longer.
sidenote: I put on a tri-specific wetsuit on Saturday in my first open-water swim and all I can say is wow. I never thought a little layer of snug, skin-tight rubber would make such a difference in my buoyancy. Staying afloat in that thing was a breeze. And I glided through the water like never before. Wetsuit clearly has its advantages. I ordered mine yesterday.
Biking: Our 10 mile bike ride took around 35 minutes to complete. It was a somewhat hilly course with little to no wind. But when you are used to riding 30-40 miles, 10 miles is more like a warm-up than anything else. I will have a better impression of biking in about 10 days after completing a 65 mile ride Sunday and a 100 mile bike ride (with a lot of hills) a week from Sunday.
Running: Finally, a good run. Three miles in just over 30 minutes. Honestly, I have been struggling with the running since San Diego. It is definitely a mental thing and not physical. I have been so worried about my ability to swim and bike that running has suffered.
But then again, I know I can run the 26.2 miles.
Granted, I have never run that far after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112, but running 26.2 miles is running 26.2 miles. Right? I remember having similar concerns about running a marathon the day after doing a half marathon (Goofy Challenge) and set PRs for both distances that weekend. Maybe I will set another marathon PR during Ironman.
Yes, it is safe to say that I had a great first date with triathlon. Of course, my first dates always go well. It’s those follow-up dates that get me.
And loved it.
Swimming: Open water swimming is a lot different than swimming in the pool. I realized my split-personality stroke was extremely dependent on that little line in the bottom of the pool to keep me swimming in the right direction. Take that line away and, well, I seem to have a tendency to swim left. But other than that little inability to swim in a straight line issue, open-water swimming was a breeze. It is much more enjoyable than swimming in a pool because I didn’t have to turn every 25-50 M. Our swim on Tuesday was just under a mile – I would have loved to have been able to swim longer.
sidenote: I put on a tri-specific wetsuit on Saturday in my first open-water swim and all I can say is wow. I never thought a little layer of snug, skin-tight rubber would make such a difference in my buoyancy. Staying afloat in that thing was a breeze. And I glided through the water like never before. Wetsuit clearly has its advantages. I ordered mine yesterday.
Biking: Our 10 mile bike ride took around 35 minutes to complete. It was a somewhat hilly course with little to no wind. But when you are used to riding 30-40 miles, 10 miles is more like a warm-up than anything else. I will have a better impression of biking in about 10 days after completing a 65 mile ride Sunday and a 100 mile bike ride (with a lot of hills) a week from Sunday.
Running: Finally, a good run. Three miles in just over 30 minutes. Honestly, I have been struggling with the running since San Diego. It is definitely a mental thing and not physical. I have been so worried about my ability to swim and bike that running has suffered.
But then again, I know I can run the 26.2 miles.
Granted, I have never run that far after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112, but running 26.2 miles is running 26.2 miles. Right? I remember having similar concerns about running a marathon the day after doing a half marathon (Goofy Challenge) and set PRs for both distances that weekend. Maybe I will set another marathon PR during Ironman.
Yes, it is safe to say that I had a great first date with triathlon. Of course, my first dates always go well. It’s those follow-up dates that get me.
posted by Kevin at 7:03 AM
2 Comments:
Tuesday was a great workout, much more enjoyable than running that stupid hill over and over on Sunday!
I've never had any doubts about you covering the distance, but it's always good to see progress and put everything together. Great job!
Awesome man! Glad to hear the mock tri went well. Did you do it with the group?
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