IronGirl Registration in Maryland Now Open

[HillSlugger]

I registered for it to be my first triathlon but then got psyched out and did a shorter sprint triathlon first. It's a great event, and there will be lots of beginners and first-timers, but I wouldn't recommend it as a first triathlon.

Do you live near enough to practice on the course?

PM me if you want to talk.

Nicole

[sfa]

I registered for it to be my first triathlon but then got psyched out and did a shorter sprint triathlon first. It's a great event, and there will be lots of beginners and first-timers, but I wouldn't recommend it as a first triathlon.

Do you live near enough to practice on the course?

PM me if you want to talk.

Nicole

I work in Columbia, so getting to the course is no problem. I know a lot of people who participate in this event, and they've been trying to talk me into signing up for the last two years (of course, I think they try to get everyone to sign up: "you have two legs? Great! You should do the Iron Girl!"). The original plan was that I would do the CAN triathlon in Bethesda first with my son's teacher--it's a pool swim and much shorter distances than a sprint triathlon, but it looks like they've stopped doing that one. But my son's teacher convinced me to try the Iron Girl; she's not a super-athletic competitive type--she has a form of lupus and various health problems related to that, and she was so enthusiastic about her experiences that I figured if she could do it, I could too. She's offered to help me with training. Right now I'm at the point where I can do any of the parts of the triathlon on its own without too much problem--I just need to put them all together without actually dying of a heart attack!

The thing that has me wondering if I've made a huge mistake is that I've never been able to sustain regular workouts over long periods of time--something always gets in the way so I stop working out for four or five weeks, and at this point in my life when that happens I start back at square one. With ten months until this event, I don't want that to happen, so I'm looking at the next ten months and thinking geez, when do I get to be lazy?

Sarah

[HillSlugger]

You're way ahead of where I was when I signed up for IronGirl. I had just started running but didn't yet know how poorly I swam. Even with a 10 month training period I was barely able to swim 1000m straight in the pool when the IronGirl came.

My first triathlon was down in Richmond and included a pool swim. If you are looking for something like that closer to home, take a look at the sprint triathlon in Hagerstown. I just did their duathlon and the course was good and the organization was also good.

[sfa]

You're way ahead of where I was when I signed up for IronGirl. I had just started running but didn't yet know how poorly I swam. Even with a 10 month training period I was barely able to swim 1000m straight in the pool when the IronGirl came.

My first triathlon was down in Richmond and included a pool swim. If you are looking for something like that closer to home, take a look at the sprint triathlon in Hagerstown. I just did their duathlon and the course was good and the organization was also good.

Thanks for the advice! That Hagerstown triathlon sounds like a good one--I'll have to look into that. I'm not good or even remotely competitive at any of the events, and swimming is my worst. I hadn't attempted anything more than just splashing around in a pool since about 1989 until this August, when I discovered that I couldn't really swim so much as I could not-drown my way across the pool. I've improved enough since then (it was less about lack of fitness and more about just learning to coordinate my arms and legs and breathing) that I can make it through 1000 meters, but it involves stopping every 25 meters since I haven't figured out a flip turn yet. I need to just suck it up and try it--I'm embarassed to attempt it with people watching, but those lifeguards just won't go away!

[HillSlugger]

You don't need to do a flip turn! Just hit the wall with your hand, turn around, and push off. Try a web search on "open turns".

[Possegal]

hmmmm, my sister and two friends of ours are looking to try our first tri next year, maybe the hagerstown one is the way to go. i seem to be the only one OK with open water, so starting in a pool would make a lot of folks happy. i'll have to bookmark and see where we stand next year. the irongirl one looks very cool, but also likely the same weekend as the philly livestrong, if history repeats itself. so that would be out.

thanks for the info!

[juliemcd]

I'll have to check out the one in Hagerstown also--that looks like a good one.
It'll be my first tri also--I'm nervous about the swimming too. I've been hitting the pool for the past few weeks for 45 min lap sessions, but I guess I'll need to step that up.
Does anyone know of a good book or Website with a training program? I don't want to pay for one, I'd rather just find one in a book or something.
Also, I heard this weekend the the DC Triathlon Club is really good for beginners. Annual membership is $35, and supposed they've really revamped their programs in recent years to have more offerings for beginners.