Cycle - Sport #2

My favorite of the three! And here is a picture of my brand new bike! My hubby bought it for me on March 15 (hey...isn't this the Ides of March?). We went in to give my old bike a tune up, but it ended up needing so many parts (it was old...it had been my mother's bike which she purchased in the early 90s) to the point it wasn't worth it.

The bike leg of this sprint tri is 12 miles. I've already been doing 9 miles so 2more shouldn't be tough. I've been cycling at the YMCA on a spinner. ONE day in March I was able to do the real bike outside. It was the last ride on my mother's bike. It's a bit sentimental!

After the outdoor bike ride, I immediately went into the run to experience what everyone warns you about....jelly legs! Boy that is no lie! I jogged slow for about 30 seconds and went into a walk. I could barely do it! Hopefully, down the road, this will get better!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to breaking in my new bike. After Spring Break, my Tri training club plans on starting biking outside. At 5 AM, this should be interesting!

YMCA and Swimming - Sport #1

Here is my home away from home these days. On February 26 (A Tuesday), I start my official training. It is called, "Just Tri It", a triathlon training club. The coach is a woman who has raced in the Ironman in Hawaii several times as well as other races. I'm not sure how this training is going to work. It's an hour and a half on Tuesdays from 5-6:30 PM. I'll clue you in later as to how they do this!
Here is our pool at the Y:

I really need to spend more time here than my current once a week. I need to do a half mile swim in a reasonable time. Not so good at this one....
Here is where the swim portion of the race will take place (at Centennial Beach, downtown Naperville, IL): This is looking from the deep end down to the shallow end. Ahhh....there really is a summer in these parts!

The above photo is an aerial picture. Boy...it looks pretty long from this view! Like I say...I've got my work cut out for me. What's funny is....this is only a Sprint Tri! Hats off to folks who do Half Ironmans, olympic or full fledged Ironman tris!
Above is what the beach/pool looks like without water. For my non-Napervillian friends, this water hole is a former stone quarry turned pool/beach. Pretty clever use of a huge hole don't you think? One last photo of my beautiful town...on the River Walk... Next Week: Biking!

Must be a "Godincidence". I decided to begin the muscleflex and powerball classes at our YMCA last September. Both are weighlifting classes (the latter is the same as the former only on a stability ball) 55 min. long and we work our legs, arms, chest and abs to music with an instructor who motivates and checks our form. I've enjoyed doing this and have really noticed the benefits. Being that I'm still not good discipling myself with diet, I haven't noticed as much "sculpting" of body parts (biceps are looking stronger...maybe that's it), but I have definitley noticed I'm stronger. For the first time in I don't know how long, I can actually do a push up! I can also hold a plank for a minute and counting! Running up the stairs is a breeze! Best of all, my joints are staying relatively healthy. That is a weakness of mine. Approaching and then turning 50 came with many aches and pains as I tried to stay active. Tennis is my sport, and I've dealt with tennis elbow in the past, but now it never seems to really go away. After weight training, it has subsided substantially. Doing squats has greatly improved knee strength. Squats have become one of my favorite exercises because they have been SO effective! Never thought that would be!!!!

So what's the Godincidence of all of this? After deciding to try the Tri, I've been reading articles that promote weigtlifting BEFORE and during your training. This prevents or softens the blow of injuries. Who would have thunk. No problem there! I've been weightlifting now for five months. I'm quite certain that I would be suffering from shoulder pain from doing the front crawl in swimming by now. But my shoulders are strong. I'm in the walking/jog stage and would probably be suffering with knee pain, but those lovely squats intervened! Same with the spinning class. Bet those knees and quads would be barking at this "new to me" routine. But outside of hair drenching sweat, I came out feeling GREAT! So, thankfully, I was led to do the right thing first and not do the foolish thing and plunge in unprepared only to end up at M & M Orthopaedic yet again (they have gotten way too much money from me!)!

I encourage everyone to find a weight lifting routine that works for them and challenge yourself. I feel GREAT because of it! And it's been months since I've been to M & M! Looking to celebrate my one year anniversary NOT going there (I think that'll be next late summer/early fall). Not to mention...especially for women my age...it's GREAT for bone health as well! Pump on!

Powerball Example (I love this class)

Next up... The YMCA! One of my favorite places to be!

The Beginning.....

I'm on my way!!! I've started a journey I hope to finish. The idea of doing the triathlon started last November. My neighbor and I drove to the Y for a 5:15 AM muscleflex class (just a class of mostly women with a brave man or two lifting weights with an instructor and some funky music). In the black of the morning, my neighbor ran into an acquaintance who asked if she was going to do the triathlon next summer. My neighbor said she didn't know. "You should do it!', she said. "The Y has a triclub for training. You meet new people and everyone encourages one another. It is SO fun!" I don't know what my neighbor was thinking, but I instantly fell in love with the idea! I couldn't get it out of my head. I think I pretty much decided right then and there I would go for it. Since then I've been researching related topics on the web, bought a couple of books and confided in a select few. I've also invested in a great pair of running shoes (more on that & proper shoes in another post) thanks to some relatives and coworkers who gave me Naperville Gift Certificates. Fears lurk me, however....

Body part problems! Especially my feet! Can a 52 year old woman who never participated in an organized race start now with old age problems? Two summers ago, I swam in a relative's pool using some flippers he had on hand. They were really too small, but I wore them anyway swimming back and forth having a blast. The following week, I noticed the sides of my feet were sore. The week after that I went to New Orleans to gut some Katrina homes. We had to wear steel toed boots which were toe heavy, of course. That just added insult to injury and by the end of summer...burning pain! Turned out I had Peroneal Tendinitis in both feet. After a couple of rounds of physical therapy, I could at least walk around the block with little to no pain. But it most likely was to blame for the next foot issue, Plantar Fasciaitis in my left foot! Inserts, exercises, night splints and six more months of "rehab", I finally have very little pain. But it doesn't take much and those areas ache. So...I wonder if this will be a factor! I hope and pray I have the wisdom to take it slow and steady and STOP when I need to! My brain thinks I'm still 26!

Back Pain! I'm off exercise this weekend because of it! Doesn't seem to take much these days! All I was doing was sorting through books and dusting the shelves....lo and behold! It's not serious, but it got me thinking... What if after all that training, I twisted my back the day before the race? Fortunately, if you can't race, you can apply your fee to next year's race. Hopefully, I'd heal faster because I'm SO fit!

TIME! Some weeks it doesn't seem to be a factor...other weeks it does. Fitting in training for three different sports seems impossible. But thanks to that Y program...I should get plenty of help! It starts next month (Feb. 25) and you receive weekly workout programs. They also have reserved time to do laps in the pool and in the cycling room.

Looking Like an Idiot! Well, I do half the time anyway, so why should one more reason to stop me?

OK...I think I ran out of excuses and fears. To help ease the fear of training, I'm training for the training. That will be the subject of the next post. It sure helps to research this stuff!

So...who wants to do this as well? Any takers? C'mon, c'mon..... It won't be bad! The Tri is a Sprint Tri. A 1/2 mile swim followed by a 12 mile bike ride and ending with a 3 mile run. See....reasonable! This ain't no Ironman. Even the Chicago marathon doesn't sound toooo bad. But...maybe a different year. I believe that is a half Ironman...much tougher than the Sprint! I still don't know if my neighbor is doing it. I haven't gone back to that AM class since Christmas. TOO early! TOO insane! I now go at night. Once the snow melts, I'll start seeing who my neighbors are again and I'll have to ask!

Time to get dinner ready. Nutrition....there's another post! More later.... Bye for now....