Are There Sharks Out There?

So I just looked at my watch and realized the date. I haven't been up to anything real exciting except I have been swimming in Lake Michigan to prep for my next tri. One of the beaches has a designated swim lane, so after checking it out with the hubby I decided it was time to get in. Lots of people swim at this particular beach because of the swim lane and all the lifeguards posted along the swim lane, so I figure it's relatively safe. Also you can stand up most of the way out. I decide to make a day of it so I went into the city and hung out at the Shedd Aquarium, which is one of the best aquariums around. It was cool, but good lord there were sooooooo many kids. It was like every school in Chicago decided to go to the aquarium that day. Kids are cute, but I am of the thinking that they shouldn't be taken out in public. Of course that doesn't apply to my niece and nephews who are so cute they can be as rowdy as they want. I guess if everyone has that logic that would explain all the kids out in public. Anyways, I left the aquarium at lunch time and walked up the lakeshore path to Navy Pier. If you haven't figured it out I live in the Chicago area. Grab some lunch at Navy Pier and head to the beach about 5 minutes away. The whole idea is to sit, eat my lunch and work up the nerve to go in the water. Now, I grew up spending most if not all my summers at the lake, water skiing and what not, but I have never swam in the lake with the intention of actually swimming for distance so I was a little overwhelmed. So I ate my lunch, found someplace to change and sat on the beach some more. Finally I got up and walked out to the water. Now remember I said lots of people swim here? Well, while I was working up my nerve about 10 others got in the water and about 10 others got out of the water. No worries there is plenty of room. I pull on the swim cap and goggles and away I go. For like a minute. The water is choppy and I am pretty sure I swallowed half the lake but I keep on moving. I swim out about 400 yards, turn around and come back. Holy crap, that is way harder than it looks. So I ask this girl who just got done if she has any tips. "No, this is only my second time here" she says. "Good thing I signed up for that open water swim clinic this weekend," I am thinking to myself. Sunday rolls around and I am on the beach 9 a.m. ready to be taught the tricks of swimming in open water. The clinic was well worth the $10. I learned about drafting, sighting and how to swim with hundreds of other people all trying to get to the same place as fast as they can.

Since the swim and run are the two places I need to improve, that is what I have been focusing on. My friend tells me "to get a faster run time, run faster." Uh... that never occurred to me. I take this to my tri friend MJ. She tells me "negative splits, it will train your legs to run faster when you are tired." So I try this and it actually feels good. I run the first mile in 11 minutes, the next in 10 minutes and the next in 9 minutes. I have only done this workout once, but I'll keep you posted.

My biking is down to about twice a week right now. I know how to go faster on my bike...pedal harder/faster.

I got a heart rate monitor last week. Apparently this is a must have if you are serious. I am still figuring out how to use it most effectively with my training. At the moment it is a cool functional gadget that has the potential to be very useful.

Okay...what else....Oh I got my teeth cleaned today. This created a lot of anxiety in my world because I hate going to the dentist. I am happy to report that I have all my teeth, it didn't hurt and I didn't cry. Now I am off to drink coffee and eat blueberries.

My First Tri

I did my first Sprint Distance Triathlon today. 400m swim, 15 mile bike and 5k run. I was nervous and spent most of the week leading up to the race obsessing about whether or not I had everything I needeed and how I would set up my two transition areas. I decided in order to calm myself down I would create a mantra for myself. So all week I have been saying to myself "I swim like a dolphin, I ride like Lance and I run like a Kenyan". On Saturday night I finally told my husband my mantra to which he replied "alright".

The race had two separate transition areas 3 miles apart. So before checking in I had to drop off my run stuff at T2 (transition 2, where you get off your bike, put on your fancy runnin' shoes and take off). T2 was in a park parking lot and I was one of the first ones there. While I was hesitant to leave my stuff, several others had already done so and my hubby assured me no one would mess with my stuff. Off to check in. This was also where I would set up T1 (from swim to bike) and where I would do the pool swim. I wasn't sure how they were gonna do this pool thing. The pool was divided into 8 lanes so we would swim up cross over to the next lane, swim back and so forth with someone starting every 10 seconds. The registration form asked for your estimated swim time so the order was based on that. However due to a clerical error I was one of the last in the pool, which actually ended up being okay. I was out of the pool in 9:34 minutes, 9 seconds slower than my usual time. Now off to my bike.

I'll admit the bike is my strength. So one by one I start picking people off. I was only passed by one guy at mile 3, only to cruise by him at mile 13. I don't have my official time on the bike but I estimated the 15 miles took me about 47 minutes. I was feeling good as I pulled into T2. Found my hubby near my stuff, dismounted, shoes off, helmet off, running shoes on, water in mouth and over my head, and off to run. Legs feeling a little tired but I pushed through the first mile and found my legs and my pace. As I came to mile 2 I start my mantra. At 2.5 I begin to become aware of my legs but people are shouting "Almost there". I pick up the pace. Then I hear "just around the corner", and now I am sprinting. I round the corner and see my husband, and now I am running like a Kenyan. Again I don't have the official but I think I finished my run at 31 minutes bringing my total to about 1 hour 34 minutes, including transitions. I felt so good afterwards and had so much fun doing it.

I drank my recovery drink, ate a banana, got my t shirt and hung out for a little. All and all I am happy with my results. I wanted to be under 2 hours but mostly I wanted to finish with a smile on my face and that's exactly what I did.