Posts Tagged ‘ triathlon ’

Getting Fit? Which Exercise Is Best?

07/26/2009

In my quest to get fit, I’ve done lots of reading and research. Other people’s struggles. What works for them. The best shoes for my feet for running. The best exercise routine. I read the information and try to take away what I find most important. The stuff that will help me with what I want to do. There seems to be two hard core exercise camps, and then a bunch of us in between. The cardio people (of which I am currently one) and the strength training crew (I aspire to strength training but am not quite there yet). What amazes me are the fanatic fringe in these camps. The cardio people who say you have to do cardio…it’s the only way to lose fat. Nothing else will work. And the strength training folks who say you have to strength train because it builds muscle, which ups your...

Swim, Bike, Run

07/08/2009

I am not one to exercise for exercise’s sake. Never have been. I needed some sort of motivation other than “It’s good for you.” So I signed up for a triathlon. When I could barely walk a mile, I set my sights on triathlon. The reason? In my vast weight loss knowledge (cause I’ve lost and gained so many pounds so many times before), I know it’s better to vary the exercise routine because it works different muscles, you don’t get bored, etc., etc. So since I needed something to train for that would give me the motivation to do more than one type of exercise, I picked this multi-sport. Did I mention I’m not really fond of exercise? I figured I can swim, I can bike, and well, even though I couldn’t run at the time, how hard could it be? Boy was I in for a rude...

Race Splits

04/23/2009

Event Power posted race splits for last Saturday’s Mini Mightyman race, which I’d been waiting for anxiously since that day. My transition times were a little odd, but I was more pleased with my run times than I thought I’d be. The race was a 1 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run. My times were 10:48 for the first mile run, 24:37 for the 6 mile bike and 12:44 for the second mile run. My transition times were only seconds (19 and 21, respectively), which I know can’t be right, even though I didn’t have to change sneakers or dry off…still had to rack my bike and get my helmet on and off. I’m wondering if some of my transition time got sucked up into my bike time. Either way, for my first time out, I’m pleased with my times. They were far from the fastest in...

Backlash

04/21/2009

I hit two of my very big goals last week on this fat to fit journey. I hit the 50-pound mark, a full month before my 50th birthday, and I completed my first duathlon (my wonderful triathlete brother says I can still consider myself a TRIathlete since it was supposed to be a triathlon and they took away my strongest leg (the swimming!). On Saturday, I was exhilarated pretty much all day. I had to keep pinching myself–I could actually stop worrying about the race because it was done and I finished it. All of the things I worried about didn’t happen and I made it. All of the hard work that went into it got me across the finish line. And I learned a lot about how to train for the next one too. Big lessons… like running on a treadmill isn’t even close to running on the...

Race Results and the Magic Number – 49

04/18/2009

I did it! I seriously did it! I know this was a small race, but for me, it was huge, and it’s just the beginning. I finished my race (the April 2009 Mini Mightyman Duathlon) this morning in 48 minutes, 47 seconds, but most importantly, I finished! The weather was perfect: sunny, warm and very little wind and the course was pretty flat, except for the hill at the beginning of the run, which, trust me, didn’t help me one bit. My runs were tough, but apparently not as bad as I thought, and my bike was strong. I felt better on the bike today than I have in any of my workouts. I was even passing people! I met some great ladies (those of us who were slow runners) while we were waiting to start, the event was really well-run (thanks Event Power), and the volunteers were super-supportive...

4 days and counting

04/14/2009

So as I mentioned, they changed my race yesterday. It’s no longer a triathlon, it’s a duathlon due to technical difficulties with the pool. And the swimming was my strongest discipline. Oh well. Anyway, I got up this morning and did the race lengths for my workout: 1 mile run, 6 mile bike, 1 mile run. And it didn’t kill me. First mile was pretty strong, very little walking. Bike was good too. Second mile was tougher, especially right off the bike, but I completed that one in 13 minutes. And I finished the whole thing in about 54 minutes, transitions and all. The weather was good this morning. Cloudy, but warmer than it’s been and only a breeze. Hallelujah! The weather’s supposed to be good on Saturday too. Now that I know I can finish the distances this way, I feel better, and I’m actually looking forward to...

35 pounds and counting

01/13/2009

I weighed in Thursday to find I’d lost 2.4 more pounds, putting me at a 35.4 pound loss so far. And this, after the holidays. Woot! While I ate more during the holidays and some days (like New Year’s Day where I ate nothing but chocolate chip cookies and birthday cake) were food fests, I stayed on track the rest of the time through the holiday season and I made the extra effort at the gym. And it paid off. This is the last time I intend to lose weight and this time, I’m losing all the weight. Since this is a lifestyle change for me and not a diet, I know there will be days of chocolate chip cookeis and other unavoidable treats. I’ve learned about myself that when faced with certain foods, I’m not going to be able to resist. Period. So I need to try to...

Triathlon Training – Couch 2 5K

01/08/2009

I’ve been training for my triathlon coming up in April. Suddenly, four months doesn’t seem like a whole lot of time. My biggest challenge is the running part because I’ve never ever been a runner. I barely completed the 1-mile runs in high school (and I was in good shape then!). Now 30-something years later, I’m starting to run. Tonight I started week three of my Couch 2 5K training, only I modified it some. In week one, you run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds. In week two, you run 90 seconds, walk two minutes (more than once obviously) and in week three, you are supposed to run 90 seconds, walk 90, run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Yeah, no. So tonight I ran 90, walked 90, ran 2 minutes, walked 2 minutes and so forth for 20-something minutes. I’m hoping by the end of week three, I’ll be...

Triathlon Here I Come

12/15/2008

Ok, so it’s official. Back when I decided it was time to get fit for my 50th birthday (and actually even way before that), I had always had the idea that I would participate in a triathlon. My brother is a triathlete, a good one, and he is in incredible shape. Coming from the same gene pool, I figure I can do this too. (oh sure.) So I signed up and the date of my very first triathlon will be April 18, 2009, just one month before the big birthday. It’s a starter triathlon (Mini Mighty Man) with a 400 meter swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run. However, coming from my state of years of no exercise, this will be a challenge. I started preparing when I started weight watchers in July, with walking. Now I’m at the gym swimming, biking and trying to run (this will...

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