WOW! I am so excited right now! I just had the most amazing day. Where do I start….
I got up this morning to do my first swim workout in YEARS! When I was in 10th grade I was on a swim team and loved it. I stopped swimming when I started to gain my weight in college and somewhere along the way my love for the sport drifted away, much like my figure.
I was SO nervous today for some reason. I got to the gym with my workout book to log my laps, got into the pool and felt as if it was the first time all over again. As I put my swim cap on, the memories started to come back, and that is when I started to get excited. My first few laps where slow, very slow in fact but after awhile I got into a rhythm. My breathing patterns came back to me, I started to focus on extending my stroke and I began to ease into the laps at a more relaxed pace. I was stopping every 100 to 150 meters to log my laps so that I could keep track, which took a bit of time but I still managed to finish in a decent time for my first swim in so long.
I swam a total of 800 meters then I rushed as fast as I could to the ladies locker room where I threw a t-shirt and running pants over my suit, put my shoes on and ran up stairs to the treadmill for a 2 mile run. I was quite tired by the time I started my run, but I pressed on finished the 2 miles strong.
I came home at this point and drink a protein shake, then about 30 minutes later I got on my bike for a 16.76 mile bike ride followed by a 1 mile run. This was my first brick workout, as it is called in triathlon training. My ride was far better today than my last. FIrst of all I was faster, but I also felt more comfortable on the bike and I did very well at the stop lights and on the busy roads. My ride today was hard. I chose a route that had quite a bit of hills and on top of that it was quite windy today, but I pressed on. As I was coming back to our house, I jumped off my bike, ran my bike around the house then took off for my one mile run. My legs at this point where Iike pillars of stone, I was running SO slow….I thought, I am not going to make it, but I once again pressed on and finished my one mile strong and SO very proud of how hard I worked.
Now, today taught me two things. The first being that for just starting my training I am doing well. I am not fast, but I am building up my endurance and every workout I can see I difference in my stamina as well as my times. The second thing I learned today is just how far I have to go! I want more than anything to do an Ironman 70.3 series and if that is a goal I plan to achieve I have allot of work ahead of me. I need to loose more weight, train harder and really work on speed. I finished the day with a nice bike ride with my husband for another 5.2 miles, he said hearing about my day inspired him and therefore he inspired me to go just a little more!!
In summary, I can honestly say that I pushed myself today, I gave it my all and I am so proud that I did. I cannot wait to do the same workout next week and see how my times have improved. I guess that is one good thing about starting at the bottom is that you have LOTS of room for improvement!
Totals for the day –
Time – 159 mins ( includes transitions, cool downs and stop lights on bike)
Calories burned – 1,841
Calories consumed – 1,660
Swim – 800m
Bike – 21.96 miles
Run – 3.03 miles
Workout 1 – Morning 800 meter swim with 2 mile run
Swim – 800m @ 20:38 mins
Run – 2.02 miles @ 19:55 mins/ Avg pace – 9.7 mm
Workout 2 – Bike with 1 mile post ride run
Bike – 16.76 miles @ 66.26 mins / Avg speed – 15.1 mph – Max speed – 25.7 mph
Run – 1. 02 miles @ 10:37 mins / Avg pace – 10:25 mm
Workout 3 – Evening bike ride with husband
Bike – 5.2 miles @23:37/ Avg speed – 13.2 – Max speed – 19.8