Well, the half marathon is over and my tight muscles and body fatigue are already fading into distant memory. My shiny new medal has been added to our medal collection. My race bib has been added to my bag of race bibs. C'est fini.
Guess I had better start ramping up for the next event.
It's triathlon time folks. As in my first ever triathlon. Well, to be honest it's technically called a try-a-tri but it's still swimming followed immediately by cycling followed immediately by running so I will proceed with calling it a triathlon unless someone tells me I can't due to some technicality I'm not aware of.
I mean really. Triathlons and duathlons are crazy. They never have the same distances. I've done a duathlon where I've run 5k, cycled 30k and run 5k. And I've done one where I ran 2k, cycled 25k and then run 7.5k. You can't possibly compare the two and you certainly can't compare your results between races.
So, I'm calling my next race a triathlon and we're moving on.
It's not like I'm claiming to be running a 5k marathon...
And, by the way, it always makes me laugh when people say stuff like '5k marathon'. I know that not everyone knows the running lingo but a marathon is a set distance (42.2k/26.2miles) - it's not a perceived effort. Just because you ran your 5k really hard doesn't mean you ran a 5k marathon. I told a lady at work once about a 1/2 marathon I was about to run. She later asked me how my marathon went. I reminded her that it was a 1/2 marathon and she replied "oh you trained really hard - you can call it a marathon". Ummmm...
I digress....
So I have exactly 15 sleeps until I swim bike run in sequence for the first time in my life.
At the moment I'm feeling excited and yet calm, brave and yet completely nauseated.
Pretty much how I feel about any upcoming race.
Between now and then, I need to get myself into the Welland Canal for some open water swimming. I have spent lots of time playing about in open water but have never actually tried to swim in a straight line with my face in the water. Never mind the whole trying to breathe thing. Or dealing with water that is anything other than perfectly calm and totally chlorinated. So I'd rather have a trial run or two before I hurl myself into the water with a bunch of other crazies and attempt to master everything while trying not to get royally kicked in the head.
I think I've figured out my race day diabetes plan and I'm poaching a lot of ideas from Sensei Jeff. Basically, remove insulin pump at the last possible moment and put into cycling shoe so I don't forget to put it back on after the swim. Put a gel or two in the pocket of my tri top in case I go low out in open water (wouldn't that be a blog-worthy experience?). Keep quick drying towel handy for post-swim blood sugar check. Lower basal rates to 70% 90 minutes before the race. Cross my fingers.
The entire race should only take about an hour after all. What could possible go wrong?
Three things:
ReplyDelete(1) It's definitely a triathlon. There are a few standard tri distances--Olympic, 70.3, and full Ironman--but anything involving a swim, a bike, and a run is a triathlon. You, mon amie, are going to be a triathlete.
(2) Good thinking getting a couple practice swims in. I didn't do that, and my first tri swim was not the best experience I've ever had. When you're swimming in the canal, practice sighting; every 10 seconds or so, instead of simply breathing to one side, lift your head up with your eyes forward and look at where you're going. I tend to do this during the glide part of my swim stroke, with one arm extended in front of me to keep my legs from dropping. You don't have to sight perfectly each time, just enough to get an idea of where you are and where you're going. You can practice this at the pool, too. :^)
(3) Be careful doing exactly what I've been doing pre-race. It all seems to have gone to hell recently.
Oh, and have lots of fun!!
It's good you're working out and preparing for your race logistics!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it!! Cannot wait to hear all about it. You're a winner :)
Your fan, Prudence