The Wheels Keep Rolling

I haven't really shared how training is going for Beach to Battleship 70.3 aka B2B. I guess I need to get better about that since this is a blog about my traithlon journey.

Flat Ron joined us for the big wetsuit swim. No longer a wetsuit virgin!

The swimming is going great. I have been picking up my pace and feel pretty confident in the water. I no longer feel like a whale flopping around in the water. I did my first ever open water swim (OWS) in my wetsuit the other weekend. The real challenge is getting the damn wetsuit on but I found if you turn it inside out it goes on like a dream. When we swam out I never was panicked but I did find it hard to catch my breath. On the way back in I had no problems probably because I knew I was headed to shore. A few days later my coach took a teammate and I out to do another OWS and I felt so much better. No issues breathing! So why do I need a wetsuit for B2B? Well first off the water temp will be a bit cold making it race legal to wear one and second they make you faster and super buoyant. So yes, I need to learn to swim in a wetsuit plus OWS are so much less boring than pool swims.

Biking weather has finally arrived.

On the biking front I have been doing group rides every week with the Inside Out Sports crew. I usually head out with the A group which are usually a bunch of really strong, fast men but I keep up pretty well with them. So far I have been the only girl in their group. I wonder what they would do if I started talking about my lady bits? Anyway, those guys really push me and have gotten my pace up to about 18.1-18.2 mph on some damn big hills. That ride is actually super sucky on the hill front. Now that the weather is better I get to spend less time indoors on the bike trainer-thank you sweet baby Jesus! I would love to break up with my trainer but it comes in handy on rainy days and is good for those workouts when you need to do sprint intervals.

As for running, well that isn't happening right now. Word on the street is that I don't have to run till June. If the foot isn't better by then it is going to have to harden the heck up and just deal because I don't have time for it's nonsense. Right now I have on and off days with the foot. Some days it feels fine and others it does not.

My first triathlon of the season is May 17th. It's a super sprint and geared to the ladies. It's a fun little race and I am so excited to have an old college buddy doing it as her very first triathlon. She is going to do so fabulous and I am so excited to share that accomplishment with her. So what is a super sprint? It's the shortest distance there is and races range in distance. This one is a 225 yard swim, 9 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. Hopefully I will be done in under an hour. Last year I did really well but I was also running. This year I can't wait to see what I do because my swimming is faster, my biking is way faster, and my run, well it will be what it will be. I know I can bust out 2 miles so I am not really worried that I haven't been doing any run training.

Rambling Rose 2014 where my bike decided to throw me off at the end.

After that race who knows what I will do. I know I will have at least 1 or 2 Olympic distance triathlons and maybe another sprint distance as well. All these will help me gear up and fine tune for the big dance in Oct. I would also like to do a century ride with my sole sister (yes I know I said sole and not soul-pun intended) up in her area. She's got a full Ironman (140.6) on dock for October so she has some serious miles to put on her tires. Plus, I would like to feel what a century ride is like if I am even thinking about 140.6 next year. Guess I should discuss that with the coach.

Now for my ramblings because I did say I will have some ramblings. Next week we are getting a fancy chicken coop built for my ladies. They normally free range and then go into their little coop at night but after another of my girls was murdered by the neighborhood hawk I had to literally coop them up. So Monday we are having a guy come in and build us a bigger home for my ladies and their new friends. Ssshhh, don't tell Super Nerd because he doesn't know about the new additions.

The ladies-Sybil(RIP), Mary, Edith, Henrietta

I will try to get better about updating the training. Hope you lovelies have a terrific weekend! Shake n' Bake!!!

I Might Be A Swimmer

I will be the first to say that I really do not like swimming (well maybe). There is usually one aspect of triathlon that every individual does not like. Some hate the run, some hate the bike, and like myself some hate the swim.

I grew up at the beach so I know enough about swimming not to drown and things like open water swims do not scare me. Actually, the idea of a snake slithering up next to me in a lake scares me but drowning or waves or getting swam over does not. Yes, I make no sense. I have irrational fears what can I say? Anyway, back to the point, I did not swim on a swim team so lets just say my technique was not the greatest nor the most efficient.

Someone needs some vitamin D!

My first 2 years of triathlon I just struggled through. I was not fast (still not) but I got the job done. Thank the lord the swim is the shortest part of any triathlon. I did take swim lessons from my former coach last year and that helped a lot with my form. I still feel like a frenzied whale when I swim but that's my own self conscience mind at work. It doesn't matter how many people tell me I am a good swimmer, I will never believe them. I know, I am ridiculous!

That's me with my arm barely out of the water.

Anyway, since I have not been running due to my plantar fasciitis my awesomesauce coach has me in the pool a lot more. My times are slowly but surely getting faster. I think when I started this triathlon journey my race pace was 2:12ish per 100 yards and now it ranges from 1:45-1:50 per 100 yards. Last week we changed my stroke up and while my shoulders were getting the workout of their life my times were faster with less effort. I wasn't huffing and puffing which is one of the things I fear in the pool. I don't mind being winded on the bike or the run but on the swim I fear I will drown from lack of breath. I will say I am starting to enjoy my swim workouts and very rarely miss a swim. I smell like chlorine all the time and my skin is dry as the Sahara but I could care less.

So maybe I am not like all triathletes in that I don't hate one aspect. I will just say some are more of a struggle than others. While I might not be super fast at least I finally enjoy swimming. I might even say I am a swimmer. I can not wait till open water swims begin (well except for the swamp scratch some people can get) just for a change of pace. Hopefully a snake will not slither up next to me. If that happens then it's "peace out" and back to the pool I go.