Triathlon reflections

Now that I am rested, I can reflect a little bit more on the relay triathlon I completed yesterday. What an amazing experience. I set a personal record and as a team we ranked 3rd among mixed gender relay teams (6 teams total)! That is pretty awesome. I am pretty proud of us.

The best part was having all these people around to support each other and cheer each other on. We were there with 5 teams. Most of us novices who were just in it to have some fun and "tri" something different. Everyone was awesome and did a wonderful job. I don't think there was anyone who was upset or disappointed by the whole experience.

I loved that Mr. Bear was there to cheer me on and to document the experience by taking some photos. The rush at the finish line was just awesome. I sprinted to the very end and did my very best and I feel pretty proud of my accomplishment. I am hooked and I am ready for the next challenge! I feel good.

I did it!

I completed my first relay triathlon today! The weather was perfect about 70 degrees and it was absolutely awesome. My team did wonderful and my friends all did amazing jobs. My running buddy, TK, did the entire triathlon herself, she did the express version. I was very proud of her! It feels so great to have accomplished something like this. I may not have done the entire triathlon myself but I ran the 10K in a personal record time. I ran it in 1:11, which is better than I thought I would ever do. I feel great about my time!! My best friend and swimmer swam 1.5K in about 34 minutes and my cyclist rode 40K in about 1:12. We did well individually and as a team.

My Team:



Getting ready:



Look at the swimmers go:



Passing the baton (timing chip), transition I:



Passing the baton (timing chip), Transition II:



And off I go:



Here I coming; the home stretch:



We did it!!

Tri in 3 days

Yikes!! It is coming. Excited and scared all at the same time.

Taper down for a busy, busy bear

That is me lately, a very busy bear. I am very glad that today is Friday, I am so looking forward to a restful weekend.

On top of work, I am training for the relay triathlon. My running partner and I decided that with the triathlon about 2 weeks away that we are going to start to taper off on our training. I feel like I have been going and going and I am absolutely exhausted. We won't stop running, but taper off the miles and I will cross train to allow our bodies to recuperate and recover for the big day. Many training schedules include a taper period. It is a very important part of your training. Here is an article that talks more about the importance along with a little research to back it up. There are many resources that reinforce the need to taper before the big event. Although it may sound counter-intuitive it actually makes you stronger.

According to the research Runner's World cites:

"The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains."

So the next two weeks will be time to taper my training. And I think my body is definitely telling me this. My legs are sore and I am tired. I am not marathon training, but I am running more that I have ever in my life and I am so much more prepared for this that I have been for any other race I've participated in. I am ready and by tapering my training, I will be well rested and prepared for race day!! Wohoo!

It's official!

We are registered for the triathlon. I registered my relay team today so there are no refunds and no turning back. Wohoo!! Scary and exciting at the same time.

T-minus 25 days

My triathlon is in 25 days!! I can't believe that it is less than a month away. I am so excited about it. My triathlon relay team is organized and ready to go, we have all been training and we are ready to do our part. I have been a running fool and I feel ready to do the 10K run portion of the relay. I am fortunate to live close to the actual race site so that I can training on the actual terrain and path that I will be racing on. I have been training there at least once a week with my running partner (she is doing the entire triathlon, I am so proud of her). I am not the fastest runner, but I can definitely finish (pending no injuries). This is all about having fun and I can't wait. I hope to beat my last 10K time. I am stronger and I have been running more, so I think it is possible.

Since I have also started cycling more, I have been looking into doing some duathlons next. There are a couple next year that I am looking into. My bike is currently in the shop, I am having road tires put on my mountain bike. I haven't really been riding my mountain bike on rough terrain, rather I have been riding it mainly on the roads during my commute. So I figured it would be best to get some road tires; the road tires should speed me up and cut my bike commute time. Plus, since I am looking into duathlons I want to get my bike ready. I am not ready to spend the money on a new road bike yet; I want to see if I can get by with my mountain bike for now. If I get more into it, I will then save up and invest in a road bike. I can't wait to get my bike back and try it out.

So, I am running and riding. Next is swimming lessons. I need to learn how to not drown, LOL. Then I can eventually attempt and entire triathlon on my own. It will happen, it is a goal I am working on. One step at a time. First running, then add the cycling, and then swimming will come. Who would have thought I would be athletic. I was never the athlete type. But I am working on it.

Photo Source: Microsoft.com

A good fitting shoe

Since I am now training for the run part of a triathlon, I figure it was time to get some new running shoes. I was noticing some knee pain when I run and was starting to get some shin splints. I had heard that one should get their running shoe fitted, so I decided to go to the local running store and get myself fitted for a running shoe.

When I got there, the salesperson asked me what I was training for and I told him that I was training for a triathlon. Then he put me on a treadmill and after watching me run for a minute he told me that I have severe overpronation. He explained that overpronation is actually quite common and that when I run my foot rolls inward, thus turning the lower leg inward. This can place stress on the back, the hip, and the knee. (That explains some of the pain I have been experiencing). He also took a look at my current running shoes and said that they were neutral running shoes that did not provide me the support I needed. I need a stability running shoe to provide my foot support for the overpronation. A stability running shoe provides extra support on the inside of the midsole (the thick hard foam part of the running shoe). The inside of the shoe will be compressed less under load and support the inside of the foot preventing it from rolling in or flattening.

He brought out 6 pairs of shoes and had me try them all on. They were all stability running shoes and I just had to pick the one that I felt most comfortable in. After trying on the shoes and running around the store testing them out, I choose the New Balance WR1223:



I also tried on several Brooks and Saucony shoes but in the end the New Balances won out since they were the most comfortable. This was the runner up:



I ran in them last week and they felt really good. I didn't have any knee pains and no shin splints! They were a little more expensive than I would have liked but in the long run they are worth it to be able to run pain free and to train.