'nother newbie

[AJ(lb)]

hi all,
amy from wisconsin here, and i will be doing my first tri sometime this summer.
thanks to lise for responding to my email. i am really excited to get going, and it's finally warming up around here!

[tprevost]

Hey Amy,

Welcome! There is SO much great info here on this board! I highly recommend going back through all of the old posts - tons of great tips etc! I'm new too and will be doing my first tri in July and I'm just in awe of these ladies here and what they accomplish!

Again, welcome aboard :D

Tracy

[Lise]

Well hi! Glad you made it here officially! Don't forget to go introduce yourself to everybody in the Open Topic board, "Getting to Know You" Thread :) Lise

[bluedress]

Welcome, Amy. I am new the board and new to tri, too. Very excited about both tho. :)

I saw on your "getting to know you" post that you are from Manitowoc, WI. My best friend in highschool (and for many many years) moved from there in 1987 to Houston, where we met.

:cool:
--Marca

[AJ(lb)]

i have been living here for almost ten years now, and i love living on the lake. wisconsin is a beautiful state which i hope to see more of when i bike sagbraw this year! yay! :D

[bluedress]

speaking of caps:
i am officially in training! two days of jogging. i have three loops measured out in my hood. luckily, i did not think to highly of my ability and took the one just under a mile! this is definitely going to take a slow build up process. :(
i refuse to be discouraged though.

Welcome to the training fray! I went on my first two runs last week--forced myself to start slowly--1 milers each--and my shins already had plenty to say—a few attentive calf-stretchings have helped sooth them. I also got in the pool for the first time in 5 years last week, too. (Glub-glub.) Tomorrow I go at each of those two tasks again—shorties each. :D We are doing great things!

[Lise]

AJ,

I'm responding to your question about the hair from another thread. My hair is below my shoulders now. When I started triathlons, I was growing it out from a total chop off that I did when my marriage broke up. (Grief reaction: Cut hair!) Longer hair is easier for me to manage. I french braid the sides to get in the little pieces, then bring them to the center, and braid it all down the back. If you don't know how to do this, ask a friend who does know to show you how she does it, and imitate her. That's how I learned. Once you've got the hang of it, you can do it in your sleep. I say don't cut off your hair unless you want to cut off your hair--it takes soooo long to grow it back!

I tuck the braid in the back up under my swim cap, and I'm good to go. It keeps my hair close to my head, and under control for all three events. Here's a picture of me at the Chicago Marathon, that shows what I'm talking about:

[vicvroom]

I've been doing braids lately. Though I had to wait until it was a little longer because I was never very good at french braids.

I used to wear a low ponytail in the back when my hair was too short to braids. I could tuck it up under the cap for the swim, and it was low enough for my helmet and to pull it through the back of a running cap.