Triathlon Fever

Ever since I signed up for my first triathlon next month, I've sort of developed triathlon fever! I've been devouring any info I can get my hands on regarding the multisport world as well as starting to think about all the gear I'm going to need (especially the bike!). There's a lot more that goes into triathlon than I thought - not only the training for three different sports but also all the gear that's required! I plan on making the big bike purchase soon since I'll need plenty of time to learn the ins and outs of cycling, which I'm sort of terrified by.

 swim, bike, run, hooray!

In the meantime, I've decided to start on my swim training. My sprint tri includes a 400m (1/4 mile) swim, so Sunday afternoon I headed out to my local public pool to do some laps and see where my fitness is at. I have a tough time with swimming, primarily the lack of oxygen, which then leads to a sloppy form. I pushed myself through 100m sets with short breaks in between for a total of 500m. I felt great the first couple laps of each one, but by the last two I just wanted air! I also made it a priority to practice breathing on both sides. Right now I usually only breath on my left side, but since it's recommended to breath every three strokes I need to learn to go both ways. It was a little tricky but I think it will get easier with practice. Next I did some drills, 200m with a kickboard to work on my legs and kick, then 200m with a buoy to work on my arms and stroke. To finish off the workout I did a final 100m to bring my total to 1000m.

I know that I could swim 400m right now, but it would be pretty challenging. I think the biggest thing holding me back is my inability to relax when I swim. I remember when I used to be a lifeguard I loved watching the swimmers during lap swim because they seemed to be so graceful, just gliding through the water, lap after lap. That's what I need to learn how to do. If I can't relax in a pool, what will I do in open water!? With a month a half to go before race day I hope I can incorporate at least one day a week of swimming, with at least one practice open water swim. I'm getting pretty excited about the race, though - I even had a dream about it last night! Any triathletes out there have any tips or advice for a total newbie? There just seems to be so much to learn!

p.s. I did No More Trouble Zones for the first time in weeks and holy cow, I forgot how hard it was! I'm gonna be sore tomorrow...