Mountain Bike vs. Road Bike

So, here's the question triathletes. Which is better a mountain bike or road bike? Does it matter that much? YES, YES, & YES!!! My husband did not think so. He wanted me try the mountain bike for my first triathlons before we invested in a road bike. So I did. I told him how discouraging it was to work so hard, pedaling so hard, sweat like crazy only to have people literally fly by me on their road bikes. In my upcoming triathlon I'm renting a road bike and wanted to see if he wanted to try a triathlon this year as well. We signed up together and have been swapping training stories at the end of the day. He told me he wants to ride the mountain bike. I said, ok, sounds great but just so you know it'll slow you down. Oh, no, he responded, I can still pump out 10 miles in 30 minutes. Riding a bike, is riding a bike and its the engine that counts. 80% engine (person) and only 20% road bike. What!! You saying my engine is slow. No way. So we had a little wager. This morning he road 10 miles and guess what his time was....any takers.....46 minutes. That's right. Eat your words sweetie. He's now looking into places he can rent a road bike. Told ya, road bikes are much, much better!

Private Pool Session

So, there was thunder in my town yesterday which means they close the pool. They reopened about the time I go for my lap swimming. No one was there except 5 lifeguards. Sweet! I got to swim the 50 meter instead of the roped off 25 meter. Great!! After I swam for about an hour I decided to go off the diving board and then go down the slide. How often do you get to be an adult and dive off the diving board without a care in the world. It was fantastic. I am sure the lifeguards thought I was pretty silly but who cares I had a great time!!

Bike needs work!

I wish I meant my bike needs work but its the engine which needs work - me! My mile bike time is much slower than last year and I want to do the triathlon bike section faster? I really need to kick it in gear. I have a stationary bike at home I might need to ride it in the evenings as an extra workout - bummer because riding a stationary bike isn't my favorite form of exercise. Let me put in 3x of bike this week and see what the results are.

Blah, blah, blah

Well, that is how I feel today. Lack of sleep made me feeling a little Blah in the swim today. I was bummed because yesterday I was quick. I need to get back my energy and be ontop of my game. Especially since race day is about 3 weeks away. Tomorrow and Saturday I'll be working on my bike and run. We will see where I am at.

Swim time down!

I timed my 350 meter swim today and it was good! I got 7:54. Not bad. I have really been working on improving my swimming the last year and I feel like I have accomplished my goal. I still have room for improvement but I am really happy with my swim time! Now, just to get that during race day. Now of course with the serpentine swim my time will be slower than what I got today but still I think I can put in a good time!

1 1/2 minute off!

So, all I need is 1 minute 30 seconds shaved off my run time....its a lot in a short amount of time but I believe I can do it. I am worried I set my goal time a little high but I'm not going to change it. I'm going to shoot for it and hopefully get it. But I was so proud that when I ran my usual 3 mile run the other day I did it in the fastest yet and realized all I need is 1 minute 30 seconds and I'll achieve my run time. Good!

Am I ready for the bike?

So my bike ride on Saturday was good, challenging, near 9 miles and was scenic and fun. However, towards the end I was so beat I was mostly leisurely biking. I've got to get more biking in or its going to kick my behind for the race in 4 weeks. This week will be hard because we have guest out of town and I am trying to decide how best to get in my workout schedule. Hopefully I'll get in at least 2 x of swim, bike, and run. We'll see!

Out of my lane please!

It is difficult to find good places to go swimming. During the summer just a couple miles from my home the city pool has 2 lap lanes roped off. I buy a summer pass so I can get as much swimming in as I can. Yesterday was a mess. 4 girls hop into the lane and leisurely swim - well, I'm trying to lap swim and the sign says "Lap swimmers Only". The lifeguards didn't do anything so I kindly asked them to leave. Then, I'm almost done, just warming down when a kid dives into my lane and almost hits me - hello! This is not a diving lane, this is a lap swimming lane. I spoke to the manager of the pool afterwards to let him know the lifeguards need to keep a better handle on the kids so the lap swimmers don't get hurt.

Goal Time!

If I put it in writing, my goal is more concrete and let's me shoot for something. Now keep in mind, I'm not a fast triathlete, just love the sport. (oh, this triathlon is run, bike, swim order) Here's my goal:

Run: 27:45 (5k)
Bike: 39:00 (10 miles)
Swim: 9:30

Transition 1: 45 sec.
Transition 2: 2:00 min.

Total time: 1 hour 19 minutes

I, at the very least, want to be under 1 hour 20 min. (wiggle room for transition time, in/out of pool to cross finish, etc...)

There it is: 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES

I need to make more time!

I had plans of swimming, biking and running everyday this week. I got hung up on 'projects' on Tuesday so I didn't get me swim in :( I decided to ride the stationary bike to replace what I lost. The bike ride for this triathlon is going to kill me - I'm not in shape for it. Hopefully I can get more bike rides in. I did go running yesterday but it was only 3 miles. I wanted to do 4 but it was getting dusk so I skipped the last mile and came home. Hopefully the rest of the week goes better!

34 Days left

I have only 34 days left until my next triathlon. I need to ramp up my swimming and biking. I went out on the bike for about 9 miles yesterday. It hurt because I haven't rode the bike for several months. What's up slacker! My goal is to do:

Swim 3x a week
Run 3x a week
Bike 2x a week

I probably should ramp up the bike one more time but I only have 6 days I workout and with my schedule only so many times I can fit it all in. I think the above goals should work and put me in good shape for the triathlon.

Swim Bike Run baby!

My background

I started having back problems 10 years ago. I never thought I'd be able to run again as running was my passion and I was fast. I also had other help problems, surgeries, and doctor visits along the way. 4 years ago my physical therapist mentioned I should try swimming. Never really been a swimmer, so I tried it out. I looked ridiculous next to all those experience lap swimmers, but I kept plugging along. I finally got the breathing down and tried different strokes. I asked swimmers, life guards, etc...many questions and tried their ideas. Finally, I could swim! Slow, but I could do it. 3 years ago I decided to try running. I would walk 2 laps then run 1/2 a lap. Slowly moving up to walk 1, run 1 lap. Then my husband bought me a stationary bike for Christmas. During the winter months I could exercise on the bike. Not my favorite but I learned to enjoy it, a little. Then a year ago my sister mentioned she was going to do a triathlon. I thought, maybe...just maybe I could. So I set out to do one. I did it!! My time wasn't great but I did it! Without stopping at all! I was so excited I could engage in competition again - well engage or be behind the pack is still up for debate. I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for the ability He has given me to be active again. That's my story. The rest of the blog is just my personal posts on how I'm doing, my goals, and what races I'm participating in. The times are slow, but they are mine and I'm grateful for the opportunity to just participate.