the triathlon pages

Somewhere in the past week or so, my excitement about doing a triathlon has waned. It's now a real willpower issue to keep going, although I'm doing okay. For a long time, I was excited to be doing something new, excited about my new equipment and my progress. I'm still seeing progress, but it's not new anymore. Because of this, I skipped two days in a row this weekend. Other than that, I've managed to work out at least every other day, if not every day. It's a struggle, though.

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My last swim was an improvement - I did as I promised and didn't grab the wall and push off while swimming laps. It was more of a grind, but I did fine. The total number of laps is 21 and I swam the following intervals: 5-5-11. It was better practice for the reality of open-water swimming. During the intervals, I let myself grab a few breaths if I needed it, but only while dog-paddling (not stopping or touching the bottom). I did the last half-lap on my back and realized that the backstroke is also a good way to rest and get my breath back. I still have only done eleven laps without resting. Hopefully I will be able to raise that soon.

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Running is becoming much easier for me. Both in soccer and jogging, once I'm warmed up I can comfortably run without any soreness or breathlessness. This is interesting to me, and I feel like seeing how far I can go someday; just keep on running until I wear out. So far, though, I stop at one soccer game or a three-mile run.

The warm-up, however, is still tricky. While I'm in it, I'm out of breath and tired and feel like there's no way I can finish the entire jog. It takes a good five or ten minutes of difficulty before I feel comfortable. I don't know what I can do to improve this. For the triathlon, I'll have to suffer my warmup during the swim, which is already going to be the hardest part.

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I've been noticing changes in my muscle tone, especially in my thighs and rear. My weight has still not changed, which I find odd.

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After reading the previous entry on my swimming woes, my mom advised me, "Part of your problem is your use of that crude term 'suck.' If you drop that, you'll see how much better you do."

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On August 25th, I will be going to Greece for a week's vacation with my family (with a few days in London on either end). I'm looking forward to this not only because of the exotic vacation aspect, but also because it will give me a great training opportunity: open water swimming that is a little more pleasant than a local lake. I plan to swim and run the entire triathlon distance every day, so when I get back, I will be more than ready for the triathlon (which is less than a week after my return). I think this is contributing to my current training apathy, because I think to myself, "oh, well, I'll train enough on vacation."

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