Major breakthrough at swim practice

Last night's practice involved all participants swimming their race distances. For me, that meant 500 meters, continuous and timed.  I’d downloaded a copy of Conquer your fear of water and spent a few hours reading it.  A few things stood out to me including:

1. the importance of remaining in control to prevent panic
2. staying present to the situation and aware of my feelings
3. follow any instructions that are revealed to me
4. have fun
5. don’t do anything I didn’t want to do.

I decided to do this all day and at practice.

I have to say it worked for me.  By staying present, I had no opportunity to build anxiety about practice.  Last week, Coach Mike, told me I’d swim 500 meters and be timed, but I had no idea how this would occur.  This was probably the first time during the pre-meeting I didn’t have anxiety about the pending workout.  Stay present.  After the meeting, we head over to the pool and our designated lanes.  Those swimming 500 meters would start in lane 7, then swim back in lane 8, exit the pool and get into lane 1. We’d then swim up/down lanes 1-8 to complete the distance. 

I swam a 200m warm-up then headed to lane 7.  Coach Beth gave us the pre-swim spiel, confirming how much fun this would be [yeah right].  She blew the whistle and off we went. I decided, to let everyone start and then jump in.  I swam freestyle maybe 30 meters and felt myself began to panic. Then decided to switch to side stroke for a bit.  Eventually, sidestroke became backstroke.  I know, backstroke of all things. I just happened to have watched a few videos of it and it’s supposed to be good for imprinting freestyle body position.  So backstroke it was. To my surprise, it felt GREAT!  I’d forgotten how relaxed I am on my back.  I could count, sing, and remind myself ‘I’m in Control’ while singing a la Janet Jackson.  That would become a new mantra.  It wasn’t the fastest backstroke but it allowed me to swim the 500m distance in 25minutes and 4 seconds.  Who Knew!!

The more important things were:

1. I stayed present and listened to that voice whispering, “try the backstroke”;
2. I completed the race distance—that was huge for me
3. I did it in less than my target time <30 minutes
4. I wasn’t exhausted afterward, since I stayed calm
5. I didn’t worry about other swimmers that are faster than me. 

So I’ve decided to continue practicing and improving in the coming weeks.  Who knows, I might be able to get my time under 20 minutes. I’ll continue to stay present and not worry about anyone else’s race but my own.  Oh, and I’ll have fun while doing it!!

Remember to keep moving forward...

Zooma Half Marathon

This was my first race of the season and I had no idea which Theresa would show up. I’ve not run consistently for a while now. I was curious to find out how the swimming and cycling would translate into running.  Although my time doesn't seem like it, I think there was much improvement in my performance.  My best time last season was close to 2 hours and 55 minutes [please stop laughing].  That was after running 2-3 months consistently. Also, there was a 3 month period where I ran 5 half marathons. 

Given the hilly course at Lake Lanier and my lack of running, I think a sub 3 hour performance was good. I'm looking forward to track workouts with my running group. That combined with continuing to swim and cycle should result in a good season for me.

Back to Zooma.  In my opinion, the course was extremely hilly. It didn't help that I'd cycled 19 miles around Lake Lanier in preparation for the Irongirl triathlon the day before. On the other hand, I'm giving myself a pat on the back for conditioning [good job Theresa].  I didn’t care for the Zooma course loop either. This was probably my first and possibly last race that involves a loop.  I didn't like knowing I'd be tortured again from miles 6 - 12.  I was not looking forward to it but figured it would be a good way to practice mental training. Let's work on those mantras!  I am a runner, I am a triathlete, I can do this, I've got this, don't worry about those yanks laces hurting your feet, keep moving forward... you get the picture! 

It was nice to see friends from the USAFit Gwinnett group.  Everyone is quite friendly and always so encouraging.  Toward the end, as I walked more hills, I had a brief chat with Dimity McDowell  http://anothermotherrunner.com/.  She has to be 6’2 and we discussed how being tall with long legs is deceiving.  Everyone expects you to be fast and it’s not always true. 

Remember to keep moving forward

Although this picture is blurry, I like it.  This had to be mile 1 before we knew what was coming.  :-)

Cycle Irongirl Sprint Triathlon course

Irongirl is about 4 weeks out and I am nervous.  Working on the mental aspects of the swim and now gearing up for the ride. Fortunately, there is time for a few practice rides. This was my first time riding the Lake Lanier course.  My longest ride to date is 23 miles. The Irongirl course is 19 miles.  So, in theory, I shouldn’t have a problem.  My friend, Debbie, came along for practice.  We met the TNT group, received instructions and our maps, and heading out.  This was pretty cool. We started in the transition area, down the hill and to the right heading out.  I knew there would be hills and was all set to practice shifting and attacking.  The first hill I remember is New Bethany Church. Sheesh, memories of my first tri and the hybrid bike returned. I pushed that bike up the hill but that wouldn’t be the case with my Specialized road bike.  I successfully maneuvered the gears and made it up the hill. 

There were a few points during the route that REALLY stand out. Going down the Jimmy Dodd hill. I had to have reached a speed of a gazillion mph…well maybe not that fast but it felt like it.  Probably was closer to 30 mph. I have to check my Garmin.  Luckily there was a guy in front of me. I told myself…do what he’s doing. Middle of the road [check], hold the handle bars [check], yell weee [check], and of course smile since this was kind of fun. 

The next memorable section was the hill after Jimmy Dodd, steep uphill that I wasn’t prepared for.  I attempted to ride it but ended up walking part of it. I think Debbie rode the entire hill.  Then there was the bonus downhill through the neighborhood. This won’t be part of Irongirl but we were steered onto it by mistake.  There was so much gravel, I thought I was going to fall [I didn’t].  Walked the bike up this hill too. I enjoyed the Peachtree Industrial stretch. It was a nice break from the rolling hills.  The last memorable hill was the return to transition. I was totally unprepared and in my higher gears. I turned left only to find myself on a hill.  Downshifted and eventually made my way into transition.

For kicks Debbie and I went to check out the walk from the swim to the transition area.  Talk about steep. Whenever I exit the Lake, I’ll definitely walk or crawl to my bike.

Remember to keep moving forward..

Dacula Ride

This morning, I rode with a group out of Apalachee Cycle in Dacula. This was a step out of my comfort zone and I was a bit nervous.  I'm used to riding with at least one person I already know. 

Upon pulling into a parking spot, I saw a few bikes on car racks and realized I was in the right place. I got out of my car and met one of the leaders, Steve.  I then walked over and introduced myself to two other riders, Katie and Melba. A few minutes into the conversation, we discovered a) all were new to cycling and b) training for Irongirl. Having that in common was a great ice breaker. 

After taking a photo of Katie, I asked her to return the favor and have these wonderful shots of me adding air to my tires.  I've learned this is a must do, preride ritual no matter how full the tire might feel.  I twisted the thingy [not sure what it's called] that keeps the air in, returned the black cap, and now I'm ready to go.  I love my bike.

We rode 18.5 miles of beautiful, rolling hills. This provided a chance to practice pedaling to gain momentum, then downshifting to make it up a hill.  I'm actually starting to enjoy the downhill portion. The breeze feels awesome.

There were a couple dogs along the route waving hello. They didn't chase us but took the time to greet us.  Another important thing we practiced was calling out 'car back', 'car forward', 'pothole' and any other phrase that helps your riding buddies stay safe. I practiced drinking while riding. Retrieving the water bottle with my left hand so the right is available to stop if needed.

During the course of the ride, I had a conversation about the benefits of clip-ins. After a quick flashback to my experience with them, I thought  maybe in July I'll try them. Now, is not the time.  I have too much to learn like how to reset the chain. On one of the last hills, the chain came off as I was downshifting. I stopped [later learned continuing to pedal is a way to reset it] and had to get assistance from Steve to reset it. Nothing like a little grease on my fingers to prove I actually attempted to do it.

After exchanging contact information, I secretly hoped McDonald's was still serving Egg McMuffins [they were]. I thoroughly enjoyed the EM, hash brown and coffee before heading home. What a wonderful way to start the day!

Harbins Park Ride

This past Saturday, I had a fantastic ride with my friend Karen. She led me on an adventure around the hills of Harbins. I have to admit, being a bit nervous but that quickly faded when we started the ride. Karen made me feel quite comfortable. Given my prior rides with TNT, I’d had a chance to practice shifting in preparation for hill climbing. I had a general idea. Karen confirmed when to shift so that I could actually pedal up 99% of the hills.  I was even comfortable during the instances when she’d ride ahead and I’d find myself on the road alone.  I told myself, this is how it will be on the Irongirl course. You won’t have anyone beside you to chat with so get used to staying focused and watching the road for rocks.  Luckily, we completed the ride without being chased by dogs. However, did go through a patch of vultures.  I was so happy that they didn’t try to attack me.  I think they were preoccupied by breakfast. 

23 miles, including an awesome hill at mile 22.  As I saw it on the horizon, all I could do was laugh and think REALLY, KAREN? REALLY? But I downshifted and said to myself, count to 100 and you’ll be at the top of the hill.  I did that and at #100, I looked up to see Karen’s smiling face waiting to greet me with a cheer and high five. 

What a fabulous way to start the day!

To tread or not to tread…

One of my goals is to know how to tread water before the Irongirl. My thought is, if necessary, I can tread to gather my bearings and look for buoys. Not sure if that will be needed but it seems a worthwhile goal. So, Tuesday, I found a youtube video with instructions, watched it a few times, then thought I should be able to do this after 2-3 weeks.  I went to the gym to practice. In shallow water, I practiced the sculling hand position. This doesn’t seem to bad. I then went to 7 ft, held the wall, and practiced first a flutter, then a breast stroke kick. Hhhhmmm, this might be a bit difficult. I spent thirty minutes alternating sculling, kicking, kicking, sculling. I then tried it a few times but couldn’t get the coordination. 

This is a start. I decided to swim a few laps before leaving. I’ll try again another day but I’m on my way…