30 days to go!

Yip...it's getting serious

Hi Everyone..

So, the Rainbow Cup Triathlon is officially 30 days away. Truth be told I will be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous.

Anxiety aside, I thought it will be a good opportunity to give everyone an update on my progress to date as it relates to the three sports.

Swimming

Of course I will start with swimming. It is, and continues to be the most difficult aspect of this journey for me. I am happy to report though, that I have improved. No longer does my swimming look like I am violently attacking/slapping the water with each stroke. Through many hours of practice and coaching I can say that I am more giving the water a love tap before my hand enters as opposed to a hard slap. Still not ideal, but definitely an improvement. For some strange reason my hand is not entering the water at the right angle but i keep working on it. For the next month I have to continue to work on this in addition to my roll, catch and pull (yes basically the entire stroke). Also, I have been advised that I windmill my arms too much which is not ideal and would lead to exhaustion so I have to sloooowww down the turn over. Concentrate on form and technique. Lots of work to do, but I must admit I have seen some bit of improvement however small it is. My coach Dexter has said as well that I look stronger in the water, so I am taking some comfort in that.

Cycling

I haven’t been cycling as much as I should have. I did one long ride in May and have been doing some shorter distances at least once a week. What I can say is that I am feeling better on the rides and have to focus on getting the strength and cadence. Again, a work in progress but I am feeling a little more comfortable. My friend Mikey tries to coach me on the techniques and the muscle groups to engage while climbing and sprinting but as with everything, it takes some time to assimilate and put into practice.

Running

I have seen some gains in the run as well. With each week, I can feel my body getting stronger and a bit faster. The focus remains on the 25 minute goal so I just need to continue working. Richard has been doing a great job mixing up the workouts, so I am just trying to put in the effort in the hope of seeing the results. I trust that once I do the work, the times will drop so my eyes remain on the target.

Putting it all together

I have done a few ‘brick’ workouts to date.  Some have been ride and run, while others were swim then run. I will admit that I have not tried a full triathlon as yet which is a cause for some concern. I am constantly reminded by my peers that I NEED to do some trial runs. So technically I have no idea of what my time will be doing everything all together, transitions included, which is vital. Am I afraid to try? Maybe a little but I also know that this level of practice will be absolutely critical in preparation for the big race.

How are your preparations? Are you going to Rainbow Cup or any other Triathlon? Did you just complete your first Triathlon recently..how did it go and what was the distance?

Let me know!

Thus begins my countdown! Will keep you posted on how it goes.

Image courtesy http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-only-30-days-more/