Thought it was time to give you all a lil’ update on my tri training (what I’m doing solo and with my team, Team in Training).
Each week as a member of Team in Training I join other athletes and coaches for group workouts. Tuesday evening runs, Wednesday evening swims and Saturday morning run/bikes (depends on the weather).
So far, the workouts have been pretty easy. The coaches told us that because we start our training so far in advance of the race, the first few weeks are “training to train.” This makes a lot of sense for fitness newbies, but for me, not so much. The first couple of group runs were about 30 minutes and I’d call them moderate, nothing too difficult. I’ve been to a couple of the swim practices and they focus on technique which I need, but after the swim I don’t feel like I worked out. And this past Saturday we had our first bike ride. It was only 40 degrees which in my opinion is way too cold to be biking. Because you don’t really move your hands or a lot of your body while biking, it’s hard to get warmed up. Since we were doing little drills and learning about bike safety and technique, I didn’t ever warm up and I didn’t feel like I worked out afterwards.
As I continue to train, I need to remind myself it’s not all about sweating and feeling sore; it’s important that I learn proper technique for the race. I should focus on the positive things I’m taking away from these practices as opposed to worrying about how many calories I’m burning.
I’m happy to report that I believe this week is the turning point of training and our group sessions are going to become more challenging. Last night we had a hill run in Central Park which included 30+ minutes of just running up and down hills (tough!). This Saturday we’re secheduled to go on a 1.5-2 hour bike ride up to and over the GW Bridge. Even though it will only be about 40 degrees again, I’m really looking forward to it (and plan to wear double the amount of layers I wore on our last ride).
As for training on my own, I haven’t done TOO much specifically geared towards the tri. I’ve been doing my standard 3-4 spin classes per week, plus adding in some yoga and strength training. Hoping to toss in some extra runs (this will be easier once it warms up) and perhaps some swimming (torturous for me).
And lastly, my fundraising! I’ve hit the halfway point and am still looking for any and all donations. If you haven’t donated yet, please check out my page and consider donating to an extremely important cause (ever dollar helps!)
