I am a Triathlete

I didn't realise it had been so long since I'd blogged.  I have a couple of half started blogs that I never got round to finishing which would be part explanation.

On Sunday 13th March 2011, I became a Triathlete!  Whilst not on my goals list this year, a spur of the moment decision led to registration of the Trishave Women's Festival, I decided on the Enticer Distance which is a 250m swim/10km bike ride/2.5km run.  Whilst the main objective was just to finish I have to readily admit I am more than stoked that my time was well under the hour at 51:25.

My splits were:

Swim: 8:38, Bike: 27:42, Run 15:04

31/49 (30-39 age category)

66/118 (overall)

The swimming was my weakest point (expected) yet still I managed to not come quite dead last (unexpected!).  I made up great time on the bike, overtaking quite a few bikes quickly.  The run was relatively average, and feeling the pinch of the compounded effect of a swim and a bike ride, leaving not only my legs but my whole body feeling .... heavy! :D 

So the photos from the day are up and not a single one of me, lucky I had wonderful family and friends cheering me on, see my montage from Trainer Nate, who ran his own mini marathon after me capturing me at each leg, transition and finish line! :D  I know my sister also got a front one of me on the finish line and some mucking around ones afterwards, when she gets round to uploading them! hehehehe

So what's the verdict.  Well I want to improve my swimming that's for sure, and the Sprint level (500m swim/20km ride/5km run) is considered the competitive one to be entering, so it's likely I will at the very least endeavour to build up to that level, and give it a go.  But there's no rush.  A triathlon was not on my goals list for the year (well it's ticked complete now but you know what I mean)!  I still have a half marathon to do as well, so yes I will likely try again, but it doesn't have to be next week, my main aim would be to increase my swimming capacity to enable me to freestyle the entire way.

In the meantime, my local Crossfit gym has started morning classes, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so along with Saturday mornings I'm giving that a whirl, whilst I finish off my next 6 weeks of swim squad and I'm going to try to throw a yoga class in there as well.  This should keep me pretty active for a while! :D
Stay tuned for some of my Crossfit excapades, this morning I deadlifted 70kg.  I'll be keeping records of my achievements so I can see what improvements I make.  Remember the main goal is chin ups (unassisted!).

So it's mid March and the year is flying by so quickly but looking back to the beginning of the year I feel I have achieved alot of what I had planned and wanted to do.... fun runs, a triathlon, rock climbing to zumba.  What is that you want to achieve this year, and what have you done about it so far?

Bike woes to Triathlon possibilities...

So recently I introduced Lexi... my new bike, Lexi didn't make it home from the bike shop in one piece!  (oops I suppose I should explain here I didn't get her from the bike shop, I just took her there to get her checked out). Her back tyre popped and I had to carry her for a kilometre.  Let me tell you I am grateful all those body weight exercises and all those times I was forced to carry a kettlebell above my head or I never would have made it. :D

Needless to say the bike shop were so insistent that she was not suitable for my needs that they said if I bought a bike from them they would minus the cost of the service on Lexi from the new bike.  On top of that a new bike comes with free servicing for the first year.

I spoke to some people at work and became most concerned when one of the girls mentioned how she'd started on the wrong bike and started getting alot of neck problems.  I realised I either made the investment so as to not damage myself (remember this is supposed to be something good I am doing for myself) or I went back to driving to work!

I have to admit the guys in the bike shop were super lovely and once I gave them my price point they stuck with the entry level road bike, whilst they didn't try to sell me a more expensive bike, they did explain why they didn't recommend a cheaper bike.  They showed me how to take the front wheel off quickly and easily to fit the bike in the car, and told to me to drop in if I had any worries.

Soooooo hahaha today I introduce Chloe....  I have to admit the first ride on her was suprisingly smooth, I popped her into the lowest gears up hill and she just kept gliding.  So no excuses I have to ride her to make her worthwhile! hahaha  On the weekend I will take her for a longer ride to really test her and me out! :D