First Brick Workout - Cycling Rookie!

On Saturday we had our first brick workout.  What is a brick workout? It is when two sports are combined on the same workout.  We went down south to the Veloway and rode bikes for an hour, then we went on a 10 minute run. 

I am a novice at this whole tri thing and have never rode my bike on asphalt. I have a mountain bike and hence have always rode on trails.

This is what my set up looks like:

Yes, a mountain bike with a trailer and a 30 pound princess.  When I do my workouts at home, I pull Kayla in the trailer, and we hit the trail on 3406 and ride west toward Cedar Park, or we go to the Brushy Creek Trail.  She loves it! 

Apparently, mountain biking and road biking are not created equally.  I had no idea how much harder it is to ride a mountain bike than a road bike.  So out on the Veloway, it is a paved track about 3 miles long, and everyone kept passing me even though I was pedaling really hard. Part of this is admittedly me not really knowing how to shift that well, but part of it is the heavy bike, the tires, etc..  So I rode about 12 miles and was worn out.  I got passed by my teammates several times! I know some of them rode at least 6 or 9 miles further than I did in the same amount of time.

This is me and my coach Marco coming up this really steep hill

After we rode, I was able to run a mile in 10 minutes, so I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be, but I was really discouraged.  I called Calvin and told him I think I should switch events to the Sprint distance because there's no way I was gonna be able to ride 40K on this bike and then still be able run a 10K --- AND finish within the allotted time. 

Well by the time I got home from practice, he had picked out a road bike for me, we went and got fitted at Bicycle Sport Shops, but I ended up getting this one:

It is really nice for a first road bike. I opted to not spend the extra $$ and get a tri bike because I wanted to do a couple races and see if I actually like the sport. Ha! So far I'm loving it.

From what I understand I can't ride this one on the same granite trail that I ride my mountain bike on, so I haven't figured out where in Round Rock I can ride.  If you know of a place, let me know :)

Its all about technique

Everything we do is all about the technique. If the form is bad you hurt somewhere. In running its the knees or feet. In swimming it's the shoulders. I started having some pain in my shoulders after swimming, so I had Calvin take some video of me during the last portion of my workout, to see just what I am doing wrong.

Wow, a video is worth a thousand words. Not only is my head coming too far out of the water when I breathe in, but my left arm is completely straight. As I found out the hard way, this is apparently a no-no. But hey at least I'm sporting a purple TNT swim cap! Go Team!

As an aside my fundraising letters went out this week! Contact me if you want one and haven't received yours yet. This year instead of the lime green ribbon for active treatment of Lymphoma, I have included a purple ribbon for Lymphoma remission! God is good!

Inspiration, Perspiration, Dedication

This past week has been tough trying to get my workouts in while traveling. I was able to cycle and run, but did not find a decent place to swim in DC.  When I got home on Sunday, we were under a winter advisory. It was a beautiful day, then all of a sudden we had sleet!

 See what a pretty day it was?! I took that picture out on the toll road.

Yes, the sleet hit during our pool workout.  The strangest sensation of swimming in a heated pool outside, and when you come up for air, you get sleet in your mouth.  When it was time to get out, we had to shake the ice off of our towels and my dry clothes were full of sleet. Brrr!! That's dedication.  We had a huge group show up and everyone completed the workout.

 Here's my bag with the sleet on it! Overall we had a great time.

Inspiration
This High School senior is undergoing active treatment for Leukemia and managed to have a record-setting season

NFL Patriots' Marcus Cannon was chosen as the Patriots’ Ed Block Courage Award winner, while undergoing Lymphoma treatment.

Go Team!

First Team Swim Workout

Ahhh alas, we had our first swim workout with the team.  I have never swam competitively or really that much recreational either.  I took swim lessons when I was really little and it is crazy how much I remember. It was kind of like riding a bike. I have to say, our neighbor Ginny Milford who taught me how to swim did an excellent job.  Some of you may remember my days at UT when I was diving, but we really did not swim. Then there's my experience in open water. Usually we are taking Barbie (our boat) out and I like to float in the water and try to keep the lake water from getting in my beer. 

Anyhow, we had a great turnout even though it was 44 degrees outside and raining, and yes we swam outside.Once we got in the water, it was a comfortable temperature for swimming.  I have to say, the Rattan Creek Pool is pretty amazing for what it is. Its hard to believe it is open year round, and free!  What more could we ask for?

I am happy to report that I did not drown, and I was able to keep up with the workout. I think we must have swam about a mile or so. My body was pretty tired at the end since I am not used to doing a cardio workout with my arms.  The drills that the coaches and mentors taught us really helped me feel even more comfortable in the water.  I think I'm going to switch from the Sprint distance to the Olympic distance.

So excited to learn all the new drills and can't wait for the next swim workout.  To my marathon friends who are reading this -- if you want to switch to the Tri team, DO IT!  Don't be afraid of the swim.  The coaches and mentors are awesome!

Tri gear and fun run with the team

We are in our second week of training now, and met this morning for a run workout and shoe clinic. Town Lake trails are awesome as usual and it was nice to have some company.

Afterward, Calvin and I went to Jack and Adam's Bike shop to get some aero bars for my bike. I will be riding my very nice Gary Fisher mountain bike which isn't exactly ideal for a triathlon. I'm hoping to make a few modifications to it to make it more comfortable for racing.

After swimming on Wednesday I realized I need some goggles and I am badly out of shape for it. So today, we bought me some nice goggles and a pull buoy that can double as a kick board. I didn't even know what a pull buoy was until today, there is so much to learn.

Lastly us the reason why I train is to help find cures for cancer. There have been many people in my family who have had cancer and I feel like it is a worthy cause. Because I feel so strongly about it, I have decided to participate in a preventative study, you can too! They are looking for 30-65 year old individuals that have never been diagnosed with cancer, who live in Central Texas. Again this is a study on preventing cancer. More info here : http://m.cancer.org/Research/ResearchProgramsFunding/Epidemiology-CancerPreventionStudies/CancerPreventionStudy-3/index

If you would like to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, please click the link above. Your donation is tax deductable.

Thanks for following my blog, and Go Team!!