I named this section of my blog “Sporty Spice” after being dubbed so by a co-worker one night when I rode my bike to work. After losing somewhere in the area of 110 lbs I still have (at minimum) another 30 lbs to lose and I would really prefer to actually lose another 50.
It's been with this goal that I started a new diet this year and began making exercise a much more fun part of my life by doing things like skating, skiing, cycling and in-line skating.
Still, I've been feeling that I need a more set goal to keep my routine from getting boring and also to keep up with weight training. I'd been tossing about the idea of Triathlon for awhile and have finally taken steps to getting there.
While in Penticton recently (unfortunately for a funeral) I picked up a book called Your First Triathlon by Joe Friel. Its intent is to get a person fit for a tri in as little time as 12 weeks. There are four, 12-week training plans included in the book and it's my goal to spend the next year working through each one of them.
I want to enter my first tri really prepared and end middle-of-the-pack so I think a full year of training is probably necessary. This should also help me to lose that last pesky 50 lbs.
So far, I've managed the first week of workouts quite well. Although, the beginning workouts range from 30 to 60 minutes, I find them challenging. It's also relatively easy to work them into any schedule.
I needed absolutely nothing to start biking and can bike any time, day or night. I also already have a stationary bike to do some of the technique-based exercises. I will eventually want to buy a race bike as my mountain bike will likely slow me down for for an actual race. The goal for this purchase is once my weight drops below 144 lbs.
My biggest equipment purchase was for the swimming portion of the training. I needed a proper racing suit, goggles, swim cap and ear plugs. The nice thing about swim gear is that all of this cost less than $100. I'm a pretty strong swimmer but I will have to work on technique as it's been quite a number of years since I did any proper lane swimming. On a side note, this is the event I look the silliest in. A racing suit squishes every part of my body in exactly the wrong direction. I have no one to blame but myself for the swim cap. It's only necessary because if I don't wear it I'll have green hair. There's no way I'm getting in a pool without earplugs as I frequently got “swimmer's ear” as a kid (if you've never had it, let me assure you that if you ever get it you won't soon forget how badly it hurts). The goggles just top off the silliness in grand fashion. However, after swimming this week, I've discovered that everyone looks just as foolish as I do and since we're all there doing the same kind of swimming, no one really cares.
Running is going to be the big challenge for me. I don't like it but I wish I did because it's such good exercise. The running laid out in the book starts very slow and I have actually felt good at the end of a work out because I've been able to say that I've successfully completed the exercise. I'm not sure that I'll ever be a run-rain-shine-or-snow kind of person but I'm glad it's becoming more a part of my routine.
Also included in the training plans is strength training. Strength training is always important. The more muscle a person puts on, the higher their metabolism. Plus, it tones and firms. I've always had good intentions with strength training but then I get bored and lazy and don't go to the gym as often as I should. The nice thing about these workouts is that they tell me exactly what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
I think that triathlon will work well for me as it ties together a whole bunch of goals for me and gives me good direction. I like it when I can use my OCD for good!