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....