Triathlon update

On June 16, I will be doing a triathlon... and I'm very excited about it.

This wasn't always the case.  The decision was made in January.  A friend told me that she hoped to do a triathlon this year, and since I was looking for some accountability to gear-up my own exercise routine, I told her I wanted to train with her.  My first several weeks of training were border-line miserable.  My attempts at running with pitiable... and my knee hurt all the time.

But bit by bit I got stronger.  Bit by bit I went farther.  And now nearly every time I exercise, rather than feeling close to death afterwards, I feel great.  Bodies are amazing things!  In January, I huffed and puffed up the stairs.  Now I'm running for 30 minutes without stopping.  I huff and puff while doing it... but I run for 30 minutes without stopping.

Distance
The triathlon is a "sprint", which means that it's the shortest race as far as triathlons go.  It's a 500m swim followed by a 20k bike ride followed by a 5k run.

Location
The Victoria area has several lovely lakes, and the triathlon I'm doing will take place at one of them.  It called Elk Lake.  It's just north of the city on the Saanich Penninsula.  It has a trail around it and a park and a small beach, but I haven't spent much time there.  I see it all the time, though, since it's visible from one of our main highways.  (I swam in it for the first time the other day.  It is cold.  And I don't expect it to warm up over the next 3 weeks.)  The swim will be in the lake, the ride will be on some of the country roads near the lake, and the run will be on the lake's hiking/walking trail.   

Gear
I've bought a number of things in order to prepare for this.  For the swimming, I bought a bathing suit and a cap.  For the riding, I bought a new helmet and riding shorts.  For the running, I bought a pair of running shoes.  (Who knew that quality footwear would be so important?  I'll never go back to cheap, and my back, pelvis, and knees will be forever grateful.)  Other things I've gotten include a race belt (onto which I'll clip my number so I don't have to wear a shirt) and fancy, elastic shoe laces (which don't need to be tied).  Both of those things will help me move from the water on to my bike more quickly.  On the whole, I'd say my general sense is that I've spent too much money on this.  If you add up the price of the gear plus the cost of registration plus the cost of the a pass to use the local pool and weight room, it's quite a bit.  But Dave says it's still less than what he pays to play hockey!  So that makes me feel better.  Plus, it's also an investment in my health, so the money is well worth it.  (Right?)

Training
I started off doing each of the activities twice a week, and I was very rigid about sticking with the routine.  Things changed sometime in March, though.  First, we got some company.  Then I got sick for a while.  Those things caused me to be much less consistent.  When I was able to put more time into it again, I decided to focus on running.  I ran three times a week, and did (maybe) a ride, and (maybe) a swim.  Now that the race is so close, I've balanced out again and do two runs, two rides, and one swim each week.   The swimming has been the most fun.  I hate having to do all that undressing and getting in and out of a bathing suit and walking all over gross change-room floors.  But I love the water.  Once I'm in, I feel so happy and alive.

Goal
The goal of this whole thing was always to spend more intentional, regular time on my body.  I'm the type of person that does a lot of thinking and feeling and talking and reading.  And then a lot more feeling.  And then a lot more thinking.  You get the idea.  But bodies are important too.  In fact, my body is just as much a part of me as my mind and soul are and therefore it deserves a little time too. And over these past several months, it's gotten more than a little time.   It's gotten a lot.  

I wanted to be more physically fit, and that's certainly happened.  But I've also gotten more fit over all.  It's common knowledge that our bodies and minds and souls are not separate but connected, and training for this race has given me some first hand experience of that.  I've never felt better on all levels, and I totally believe that lots of physical activity has contributed to that.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, I'm very excited about the race.  And it's coming up quickly!  Dave has promised to take lots of pictures, and I plan on offering up a hearty selection of them here on the blog.  Stay tuned... and wish me luck!