Okay, it was a one day camp. For triathlon training. And very worth the time it took to get through it! Luckily it was a beautiful Florida spring day, so it was nice to be outside for the morning.
The first couple of hours was in the pool to do some swim drills and to be recorded underwater while swimming. The drills were ones I was fairly familiar with but doing them for an hour took the edge off of my normally boundless energy. I haven't gotten my results from the underwater bit, but I am curious about my form. I've only been swimming since November, so I'm no where near being a really good or efficient at it yet. But I am enjoying it (especially pool swims) and like to practice. I still struggle in the ocean (today was a very frustrating swim for me) but pool swimming seems to get easier and easier.
We didn't really do much for the bike portion that related directly to riding. Since it was a tri camp, we reviewed transitions. The way triathlons work is swim, bike, run and the clock keeps running between the sections, so speed is important when going from one to another. I did discover that I need the zip laces for my shoes (regular laces take a long time to tie) and that I need to relax while doing this. The people that were running it kept saying "slow means smooth, smooth means fast." Logical, but hard to remember when I'm trying to go quickly. Of course, I'm not trying to WIN a triathlon, which makes a difference to me--I don't need to worry about five to ten seconds and I need to remember that.
The last parts were running and nutrition, which we did at a fitness center (thank goodness, it got HOT). I think with the nutrition, I'm at a bit of an advantage because of all the runs I've done. While an Ironman, or even a half Ironman, is certainly going to be longer than a marathon, at least I'm used to eating and drinking on the go already. I hope that will keep me from "bonking"...kind of funny, the different terminology runners and marathoners use. "Bonking" during a tri is the same as "hitting the wall" in a marathon. Truth be told, I'd prefer to avoid the situation no matter what it is called. I was recorded while I ran on a treadmill, but I kind of already knew the results--I run with a very erect posture, but I am supposed to lean forward a bit. I'm working on correcting this, but changing a form that I've done for years is pretty hard to do. Not impossible, but it will take time.
Today's swim was very frustrating for me. Another open water swim in the Gulf and for whatever reason, I cannot just relax and SWIM. It took me almost 18 minutes to get down the beach to the .25 mile point (fighting the current) and with the current on the way back, it still took me about 8:30 minutes. Besides the current, I know the reason I was faster on the way back was because I was not stopping and/or lifting my head so much on the way back. I KNOW I can swim the distance, but wish I could figure out how to just calm down and swim. Practice makes perfect, right? Time to just keep it going.
Tomorrow is going to be an eight mile swim before work. I'm looking forward to it, in my weird "yeah, I'm a runner" kind of a way. Running is so simple...no gear, no specific locations, just a run. I think I'm going to take my dog Minoo for the first three miles to wear her still-a-puppy butt out and then do remaining five after I drop her off.
So far, my fund raising for the 200 mile ride in October is going well! I'm already over $400 and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate everyone who has donated! I'm thinking it's very possible that I will get to $1000 before the ride in October. This money will be used to help injured EOD men and women and I love to help that cause.
Want to donate?? Please go to https://fundraising.active.com/fundraiser/CatherynAdams-Brooking
