After almost a year of deliberation, I made up my mind just this week that I would train for a triathlon. What made me decide? Well I can now run 10k in well under 50 mins, and I can swim 1 mile in 33 mins. So there's only the cycling element left.
Simply watching some very emotional videos of people less fortunate than myself who were entering Iron Man competitions. And if that does mean anything to you, then you might not realise it's 3 disciplines back-to-back i.e.
1. swimming 3800 meters
2. cycling 100 miles
3. running a marathon
If you are seeking inspiration for anything, not just running, then have a look at the videos in one on my January 2010 blogs.
Anyway last weekend (November 6th) I borrowed a friends road bike and put it in the garage.
Today (November 10th) I got it out and wanted to see what the cycling element was like. Putting on all my safety and reflective gear I set off not knowing how far I would ride. When I got back it was 10 miles in 37 minutes and I felt good. So then I decided to run 10k (6 miles). That didn't feel quite as good and I thought my legs might not work.
However, I completed the challenge in a little over 1hr 25mins. So now all I have to do is put a swim at the beginning and then I will be a triathlete.
My first Triathlon will probably be a sprint Tri. Which is 750 meters in a nice warm swimming pool, followed by 12 miles cycle and a 3 mile run. So in preparation for this, I have just ordered myself 2 Tri400 Triathlon SKINS and have recieved an email this afternoon saying they have been despatched. (I just wish I had the same body as the model to fit in it). Why do I get so excited at my age? BTW if you are looking for these SKINS, they are cheaper at other stores like winstanleysbikes.co.uk
Anyway, I'm hoping that in a few months I can get to a competent level of triathlon fitness and upgrade to an Olympic Tri with my mate Lena in the Ripon Triathlon June 2011.
I'm now wondering how many runners upgrade to become triathletes? Apparently it's the UK's fastest growing sport - really?
If you have any good advice or anything else to add, please leave a comment below.
Stephen
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You should check out beginnertriathlete.com. The site helped me a lot when I was training for my first Tri earlier this year. (Tips from how to get used to "brick" workouts to practicing your race-day transitions.)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing how things go for you!
Have you seen TeamHoyt? VERY inspirational story of Father/son triathlon and marathon team. You can google them or see them here: http://www.teamhoyt.com/
ReplyDeleteI have seen them. I actually have them on one of these blogs.
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