Sprint Try rehearsal

[wavedancer]

I am doing my first mini sprint tri in 2 weeks (400m swim, 7 mi bike, 2.3 mi run). I am new to both swimming and running and decided today was the day to try all three back-to-back. I did it!!!

I have just started in the last week to do more than 50m at a time in the pool. I just told myself to not stop at the wall, but I could rest and glide in TI "Sweet Spot" if I got tired. I had to do that at some point in just about every 50m lap, but I managed to get it done in about 14 minutes. Really slow, but I'm competing to complete at this point.

I wore my one-piece tri suit, put on a longsleeve jersey, windbreaker and tights (temps 35-40 this morning) and hopped on the bike. Did a hilly 7.5 miles (race course will be flat) and transitioned again at my car in the parking lot.

I did my longest run so far (2.34 miles) on a flat course on the track. Felt OK! I'm averaging 11:10 min miles and am even starting to find a comfortable rhythm during my run that is mildly transcendant. Yippee!

I am so psyched! When I tried my first bike/run brick a week ago I was really asking myself "What was I thinking???" Now at least I know I can finish...maybe DFL. but I'll get it done!

[Urlea]

WTG! Great job pushing yourself in the swim! It's easy to get into the routine of stopping at the wall because you can. I'm trying to break my habit of doing this too. But, most of the triathlons in this area are open water so there will be no "wall" and I will need to be able to push my way through the swim.

Anywho, keep it up! I hope things continue to get easier and easier for you as you get more training in.

My first short-distance tri 600m swim, 13mi. bike and 3mi. run is coming up this weekend. Unfortunately we've had snow every weekend leading up to the triathlon so training on a bike has been to a minimum and there has been no pre-race run-through.

Today I am going to do a short bike (most of the snow is off the roads now) and 2 mile run. Just to get a feel for what it will be like to run after biking. Then a long swim tonight, I'm going to try to get my 600m. down to 16min. or less. We'll see how it goes.

At this point my goal is just to complete the race Saturday. Hopefully I'll make it!

Good luck with yours!

[wavedancer]

Thanks for the encouragement! Good luck on your race this weekend. Spring has to be here soon, even in Fargo. Outdoor training is tough in the winter, but good for you for going for such an early season race. Open water swim???

[Urlea]

In order to do an open water swim, there needs to be open water and the only thing resembling that at the moment is the water collecting in the ditches from melted snow.

I got my bike & run in already today. Turns out the snow hadn't melted as much as I thought. The short jaunt I took to the grocery store on bike was deceptive, everything outside that range was patchy snow. Bummer. It must have been quite a laugh to watch me today though, by the time I finished my ride I was covered in mud/slush.

Running after biking is sorta tough. My legs seem to scream up at me "what the heck are we doing now?". After about a 1/2 mile they start to behave though. I think it's doable.

Well, I need to finish eating my usual pre-swim dinner salad then head to the pool.

[spotlightmama]

Yay for you!! I'm doing my first sprint tri in a few weeks, too! Running has been my big challenge, but I'm finally starting to feel pretty good!

[teawoman]

Yay!! Congrats on signing up! You will have a lot of fun!

[Tri Girl]

Great job on your first tri try! You're going to do GREAT (all of you will!).

I passed a guy at the marathon on Sunday and he had a shirt that said:

DNF > DNS and DFL > DNF
DFL is better than not starting at all!

I thought it was a cool shirt! It had cool graphics and looked really neat. DFL really IS better than did not start at all. But don't worry, you won't be DFL. There's always someone slower than you out there. And at our club races that we put on, the dead last person always gets an award and a free giveaway (usually something very cool). It's more than I get and I don't finish last. We treat them just as well as the person who finished first.

Way to go!!!!