Tri Tuesday! 10 Weeks until MTWomensTri!

Hey everyone!

It's time for a weekly update on the Triathlon training! There's about ten weeks until the race, and this was really my first "official" week of training. I also gave myself a pretty firm deadline of ordering a swimsuit for lap swimming.

Starting with training, I think I had a pretty good week. Right now, my training doesn't look that different from a normal week in my fitness world, anyway.

Here is what I had on my plan to do this week:
Week 1 (This week!) 3 runs, 1 bike workout
optional brick: 3x(4 mile bike, 1mile run)
swim if possible

And here is what I actually did:
Four runs AND a brick workout!
6.4 miles (on trail) on Sunday, 3 miles Tuesday, 3.4 miles Wednesday, and about 2.5 miles on Saturday. These were all just running workouts. I did not get a swim in because I didn't have a suit yet. :)

For my Brick, I was short on time, so I greatly truncated the workout I had on the schedule. I just did one set of the 4 mile bike, 1 mile run, and lengthened the run slightly to 1.5 miles. I called it a Mini Brick. Even though it was short, I still got a taste for what a brick will be like. What I've read/heard is true and I noticed it even in my Mini Brick- my legs felt weird when running immediately after biking. I'm glad I have a lot of bricks built into my training plan so I can continue getting used to that feeling.

Overall, I feel like I followed my plan close enough for the first week. I replaced my swim with a run, and I did do a brick. So far, so good!

I also had a secondary goal of BUYING A SWIMSUIT! And... I did it! I ended up ordering a suit on sale from SwimOutlet, along with two swimcaps and two sets of goggles. Caps tear easily so I wanted to have a spare on hand. I also wanted a spare pair of goggles for the same reason.

Here's what I got-


Just standard latex swim caps. The goggles are Speedo Vanquishers, women's version, which is what I used in high school and college, so I know they'll work great. I bought the reflective kind to cut glare for swimming outdoors.

The suit is a TYR Diamond Fit suit. I wasn't totally sure I remembered my size, but I guessed right and it fits great. I'm a 34, for reference, in case anyone is looking to buy a suit and isn't sure about their size. SwimOutlet has tons of selection and it can be overwhelming. I used their search bars to narrow down to brands I wanted (Speedo or TYR), then selected my size, and then clicked sort by price low-to-high. I chose one in colors that I thought were OK and was on sale, and in a fit I knew I would like. This style of TYR suit is the same as my lifeguarding suit from high school, so I knew it would fit and perform the way I would want. I guess there haven't been a lot of changes in competition suits over the years. All in all, I'm really happy with it and I can't wait to try everything out in the pool!


One more note. At this point, I plan to only use this suit for my lap swimming and training. This could change, but I think for the actual race, my plan is to swim in a sports bra and triathlon shorts, and then put a shirt or tank top on over the top for the bike and run portions. I've been doing a lot of research, and this seems like the way to go, especially for first-time. I can always buy a wetsuit or even more specialized gear in the future if I get really serious about triathlons. I plan to actually order a pair of tri shorts very soon, so I can start getting used to them. I've got some picked out already and I'll be sure to share what I end up with!

Money spent so far. Triathlon gear and registration is pricey. I had spent almost $200 already on the race registration and hotel reservation. I've now also spent almost $100 on swimsuit and gear, so my total is around $300. Eek! Still have to get a certified bike helmet, and the tri shorts. Plus I'm sure there are other odds and ends. Thinking about selling some old running clothes on eBay to help defray costs.

Goals for this week-
1) Stick to my training plan again. On deck for this week are 3 runs, 1 bike, optional brick, and optional swim. I am really hoping to actually get to the pool later this week, possibly Friday or Saturday.

2) Loose goal-- order tri shorts!

Stay tuned for next week's installment of Tri Tuesdays!