Triathlon: Sixth Week Review

By kate on August 5th, 1999

Current totals:		Other:
Running	23.4 mi / 37.66 K	Hiking	8 mi / 12.87 K
Biking	128.2 mi / 206.32 K	Canoeing	40 minutes
Swimming	3.3 mi / 5.38 K	Soccer	6 games

Equipment trouble and brain training

I had a very frightening experience last week. I went swimming with a brand-new pair of goggles, and when I got out of the pool, one of my eyes had hazy vision! Apparently, there was some gunk that was on the inside of the goggles, and when it got wet, it got in my eye. I called my company’s nurseline and the nurse advised me to rinse my eye with water. Twenty unpleasant minutes later, my eye was still hazy, and I was afraid the haze was permanent. On the nurse’s advice, I went to a local Urgent Care clinic and saw a doctor. He examined my eye and put in some ointment, which helped. He told me it didn’t look like there was any real damage. The next day, my eye was mostly better, and was fine by the day after that. Still, now I’m going to stick with the old (safe) goggles for the time being. I still need a new swimsuit, with a racer back, but I am balking at how much they cost.

Because I’m so bored by jogging, I bought a tune belt and brought my CD player along on a jog. I was surprised to hear it skipping like crazy, despite its 10-second buffer. I was very annoyed! And, I had already started on my jog, so I had to complete the (3-mile) run with this useless piece of hardware strapped to my back. I’m going to exchange my tune belt for one that fits a tape player and try that next time.

Upon the advice of some friends, I bought road tires for my (mountain) bike. I had been told that riding with mountain wheels adds up to 15% extra required effort. I doubted this, but decided to get the wheels anyway, and was pleasantly surprised! It really does significantly reduce the amount of effort it takes to ride, and now I’m riding faster and easier.

Last week, I attended a seminar for first-time triathletes. It was very helpful, and gave me a good, concrete idea of what to expect on race day. There will be a big “transition area” where you get a spot to put all your stuff. You return there after each section, and begin the next section from there. We were told about how the start of the race will be staggered, and got tips on how to survive the initial rush.

At the seminar, I learned that a “brick” is a bike/run workout, and had my first two this week. I found I actually enjoy putting those two sports together, because they work different muscles (for me, at least). Biking works my quads the most, and running works my calves. When I bike before running, it warms me up well and stretches my calves, which makes running easier. I have started to get used to running a 3-mile distance. I’ve used the same section of trail three times now, and each time it seems to go by faster. (My actual time is about the same, but mentally it’s easier.) My muscles are adjusting to the amount of effort it takes and not getting so tired. I’m trying to do some of my workouts with people since I have realized it makes a big difference. Not only does it make the time go faster, but you push yourself more than you might alone.