Never Done: Started training for a triathlon
Never Done: Started a public art project
Unofficially, and completely on my own, and based solely on internet research, but still! I read on some beginners triathlon website that you should never increase your distance by more than 10% a week, so I asked Josh if he could make me a chart in Excel that contains a formula that increases a number by 10% until it reaches a particular goal. I asked him to do it for my running, which I can easily do now for 2.2 miles, and I will need to be able to do for 6.2 miles by August. Actually, by well before August, because I need to build in rest days and rest weeks, and also I will want to get to my goal early and then slowly increase my speed and also my intensity (hills, etc.) So he made me a great 10% increase Excel sheet. Actually, since I have plenty of time, he also did one for me that increases by 5% a week, and by 7% a week, and I chose the 7% increase because it still gives me a full 10 weeks to train at my goal distance.
So then I took the chart he made, and I duplicated it, and I changed the starting and ending distances for my biking and my swimming goals. My swimming doesn't look like it will be a problem (pu pu pu) but the biking looks both tedious and ominous to me. At the moment I am sticking with my goal of doing an Olympic distance triathlon, which is 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run. 40K is a long bike ride. I've done long bike rides before -- I've ridden days and days on bikes, with heavy panniers and everything, and I have been a bike commuter, 20-3o minutes at a time -- but unlike swimming and running, I have never raced a bike, and I tend to walk up hills.
On paper, I started off conservatively -- starting myself at 5K. Then I went to the gym to do my first biking workout, and I completed 5K in 15 minutes, so I programmed in another 15 minutes, with more hills, and ended up doing another 6K. So on my first official training day, I did 11K on the bike, which seems like maybe the 40K won't be as hard as I thought. Unless the time limits are strict. Because if I did 11K in 30 minutes (on an exercise bike without real hills, winds, and other riders all around me) then it's gonna take me almost 2 hours to do the 40K race. And I have no idea if they let you take 2 hours to do the biking portion of the race. (I've been trying to figure this out. I see cut-off times on some races, and I assume there are cut-off times in the NYC race, because they would need to re-open the roads at some point, but I don't see it written out officially.)
Anyhow, I did my first bike workout, and I had a good sweat, and then I came home and re-did my training calendar, starting with 11K instead of 5K, and that means I should hit my 40K goal with 11 weeks remaining for increasing speed and difficulty. But then how to deal with the tedium, and the 30 minute time limit on the exercise bikes at the YMCA? I could ride 8 times around Prospect Park, but .... meh. If I lived somewhere beautiful like where I grew up, I would just go out and ride, like I did when I was a kid, all over town. Anyhow, just saying, this is the part of the training that sounds less than exciting to me. Suggestions welcome! Also, while I haven't done this yet, I assume I should actually train for distances slightly over the race distances so the race distances might seem, dare I say it, easier.
The next thing I have to research is triathlon nutrition. I assume it's basically good nutrition -- drink lots of water, eat whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables and lean protein, etc. But I also assume there's stuff I don't know about when to eat what so you have the most available energy. I'm still planning to train with a team, who will presumably help me with all this information, but I also like the process of learning it on my own. Most of all, I feel excited about the possibility of building the kind of physical strength necessary to complete a race of this magnitude.
And one other thing. Josh and I had a wonderful evening with Avia and Christian. We had dinner at our apartment, and then we started a little public art project which will go public today, and I'll write about tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label Triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Triathlon. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I might do a triathlon
Never Done: Attended a Team in Training orientation
I'm a bit worried I'll be a giant cliché if I do an endurance sport event during my Never Done year, and a bit worried that I'd be missing a giant opportunity if I don't do one. And since the spirit of Never Done is to actually do it if I've never done it, then I guess I have to risk being a cliché.
I think I am going to train for a triathlon.
When Claire ran the Boston Marathon, she trained with Team in Training, and raised money that went directly to research and cure for leukemia and lymphoma. She also got superb training, and finished her very first marathon in just under 4 1/2 hours, and never even got sore afterwards. (OK, so I shouldn't compare myself to Claire. Got it.) I was there to support her, and I wept all day long, watching people reach for, and in most cases achieve this massive physical feat.
Here's what would make this very personal for me. My mom died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma almost three years ago. She had excellent medical care, and she was in otherwise (aside from the cancer) excellent health, and they still could not cure her. It's not like it's gonna make it all better if I complete a triathlon, but 75% of the money I would raise would go directly to research and cure for blood cancers (and the other 25% goes to the coaching and other race-related expenses I would incur.) At least I'd be doing something, and that might help me feel a little less powerless about her death.
Another thing that would make it personal is that Tonia's mom has a leukemia now; she's always been a pillar of physical health and strength, and is doing surprisingly well, given the amount of chemotherapy she has had recently, but it's also been kicking her ass. (Both the cancer and the chemo) and I would love to do this event with her in my mind. (And believe me, she is a good person to have in your mind when you are engaged in a physically challenging activity.)
Another thing is that I have always wanted to do a triathlon, but I've been hurt for so long that it's just never made sense to me. I tore my ACL, both menisci and a tendon in my knee when I was 15, and have had seven arthroscopic surgeries and one reconstruction done. On top of that, I had a car accident and then a carpentry accident that have left me with two herniated discs. In other words, it wouldn't take running a marathon to make me sore; I am sore when I get out of bed in the morning (and sometimes, you could define "sore" as "paralyzed with pain.") Still, I have always wanted to do this.
When I looked through the options of endurance events, and saw that the marathons and half marathons and century rides and hikes and triathlons, I was immediately drawn to two events: A 3-day hike through Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon, and the South Maui triathlon. (Never been to either place!) In my heart though, I knew that the hike wouldn't give me the same overall sense of accomplishment that the triathlon would -- I've done big hikes before, so this would be more of a great opportunity to hike somewhere stunning, but it wouldn't be the big Never Done activity that a triathlon would be. I emailed the contact guy for the New York chapter, and I found out that the New York chapter is not training for Maui, but I could train for (wait for it, wait for it) the New York triathlon in August!
Eww. A triathlon in New York City in August? That does not sound ideal. In fact, it sounds smelly and hot and muggy. A bike ride up and down the West Side Highway vs a bike ride along the Maui coastline. Hmmmm. And yet it has its advantages. I would have a huge support network to cheer me on, and I could try out parts of the course in advance. My fundraising goal would be smaller, because I wouldn't be raising airfare and bike shipping and other destination event-related costs.
The big thing though, aside from destination or olfactory concerns, is really my body's physical limitations. On the one hand, I am a strong, athletic person. A have done a two-mile open water swim before. I wasn't fast, and I had to stop to rest sometimes, but I didn't even train for it. I think that with proper training, I would be just fine to do a 1.5K (.93 mile) swim. I have taken long bike trips before -- traveling 80 miles a day, carrying all my gear. That was 20 years ago. I am no longer a stalwart biker. I walk up hills, and get insanely tired when I don't. A 40K (24.8 mile) bike ride would kick my ass if I did it today, but I don't think the training would hurt my knee or my back too badly. Then there's the 10K (6.2 mile) run. In some ways, this is the most native to me, and the one that would hurt the most. I love to run, and there have been times when I could run for an hour without stopping. These days I run on a track or a treadmill, and I wouldn't actually call it running, but jogging. I jog about a 13 minute mile, which would be 75 minutes if I could keep that pace after swimming and biking in the middle of August in New York.
What, am I insane? Or am I doing what people do when they want to feel expansive and push through real or imagined limitations?
The reason I went to the Team in Training open house was to talk with their trainers. I set up an appointment for when there would be a coach who is also a physical therapist there, to talk honestly about my injuries and abilities. Instead, when I got there, there was just a marathon coach, who was in his 20s, and his expertise was that he has run 5 marathons. He was sweet, he was enthusiastic, and he was even empathetic -- he told me that his girlfriend has a bulging disc in her neck and she becomes paralyzed with pain, and that he himself broke a rib and that it looks to him that she's in worse shape than he is. But he was 28 (I'm guessing) and gung-ho, and kept saying "Oh, the coaches will work with you." But I had gone in specifically to talk with someone with that level of expertise before I sign up to do this, and I know myself well enough to know that I really do need help, expertise, and someone to tell me how it could be possible to train me through my injuries, to know this could really work.
While that doesn't inspire confidence, and it makes me think that Team in Training's excellent training is geared to people who are beginners and not to people with special needs, I don't want to let their limitations become mine. Luckily for me, my cousin Kenny is both a triathlete and a physical therapist, so I will call him up today and ask him if I'm out of my league here, or if it is actually possible that I could complete a triathlon. If I do it, will you come?
I'm a bit worried I'll be a giant cliché if I do an endurance sport event during my Never Done year, and a bit worried that I'd be missing a giant opportunity if I don't do one. And since the spirit of Never Done is to actually do it if I've never done it, then I guess I have to risk being a cliché.
I think I am going to train for a triathlon.
When Claire ran the Boston Marathon, she trained with Team in Training, and raised money that went directly to research and cure for leukemia and lymphoma. She also got superb training, and finished her very first marathon in just under 4 1/2 hours, and never even got sore afterwards. (OK, so I shouldn't compare myself to Claire. Got it.) I was there to support her, and I wept all day long, watching people reach for, and in most cases achieve this massive physical feat.
Here's what would make this very personal for me. My mom died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma almost three years ago. She had excellent medical care, and she was in otherwise (aside from the cancer) excellent health, and they still could not cure her. It's not like it's gonna make it all better if I complete a triathlon, but 75% of the money I would raise would go directly to research and cure for blood cancers (and the other 25% goes to the coaching and other race-related expenses I would incur.) At least I'd be doing something, and that might help me feel a little less powerless about her death.
Another thing that would make it personal is that Tonia's mom has a leukemia now; she's always been a pillar of physical health and strength, and is doing surprisingly well, given the amount of chemotherapy she has had recently, but it's also been kicking her ass. (Both the cancer and the chemo) and I would love to do this event with her in my mind. (And believe me, she is a good person to have in your mind when you are engaged in a physically challenging activity.)
Another thing is that I have always wanted to do a triathlon, but I've been hurt for so long that it's just never made sense to me. I tore my ACL, both menisci and a tendon in my knee when I was 15, and have had seven arthroscopic surgeries and one reconstruction done. On top of that, I had a car accident and then a carpentry accident that have left me with two herniated discs. In other words, it wouldn't take running a marathon to make me sore; I am sore when I get out of bed in the morning (and sometimes, you could define "sore" as "paralyzed with pain.") Still, I have always wanted to do this.
When I looked through the options of endurance events, and saw that the marathons and half marathons and century rides and hikes and triathlons, I was immediately drawn to two events: A 3-day hike through Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon, and the South Maui triathlon. (Never been to either place!) In my heart though, I knew that the hike wouldn't give me the same overall sense of accomplishment that the triathlon would -- I've done big hikes before, so this would be more of a great opportunity to hike somewhere stunning, but it wouldn't be the big Never Done activity that a triathlon would be. I emailed the contact guy for the New York chapter, and I found out that the New York chapter is not training for Maui, but I could train for (wait for it, wait for it) the New York triathlon in August!
Eww. A triathlon in New York City in August? That does not sound ideal. In fact, it sounds smelly and hot and muggy. A bike ride up and down the West Side Highway vs a bike ride along the Maui coastline. Hmmmm. And yet it has its advantages. I would have a huge support network to cheer me on, and I could try out parts of the course in advance. My fundraising goal would be smaller, because I wouldn't be raising airfare and bike shipping and other destination event-related costs.
The big thing though, aside from destination or olfactory concerns, is really my body's physical limitations. On the one hand, I am a strong, athletic person. A have done a two-mile open water swim before. I wasn't fast, and I had to stop to rest sometimes, but I didn't even train for it. I think that with proper training, I would be just fine to do a 1.5K (.93 mile) swim. I have taken long bike trips before -- traveling 80 miles a day, carrying all my gear. That was 20 years ago. I am no longer a stalwart biker. I walk up hills, and get insanely tired when I don't. A 40K (24.8 mile) bike ride would kick my ass if I did it today, but I don't think the training would hurt my knee or my back too badly. Then there's the 10K (6.2 mile) run. In some ways, this is the most native to me, and the one that would hurt the most. I love to run, and there have been times when I could run for an hour without stopping. These days I run on a track or a treadmill, and I wouldn't actually call it running, but jogging. I jog about a 13 minute mile, which would be 75 minutes if I could keep that pace after swimming and biking in the middle of August in New York.
What, am I insane? Or am I doing what people do when they want to feel expansive and push through real or imagined limitations?
The reason I went to the Team in Training open house was to talk with their trainers. I set up an appointment for when there would be a coach who is also a physical therapist there, to talk honestly about my injuries and abilities. Instead, when I got there, there was just a marathon coach, who was in his 20s, and his expertise was that he has run 5 marathons. He was sweet, he was enthusiastic, and he was even empathetic -- he told me that his girlfriend has a bulging disc in her neck and she becomes paralyzed with pain, and that he himself broke a rib and that it looks to him that she's in worse shape than he is. But he was 28 (I'm guessing) and gung-ho, and kept saying "Oh, the coaches will work with you." But I had gone in specifically to talk with someone with that level of expertise before I sign up to do this, and I know myself well enough to know that I really do need help, expertise, and someone to tell me how it could be possible to train me through my injuries, to know this could really work.
While that doesn't inspire confidence, and it makes me think that Team in Training's excellent training is geared to people who are beginners and not to people with special needs, I don't want to let their limitations become mine. Luckily for me, my cousin Kenny is both a triathlete and a physical therapist, so I will call him up today and ask him if I'm out of my league here, or if it is actually possible that I could complete a triathlon. If I do it, will you come?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)