I want my fitness goals for 2012 to be realistic but ambitious. I'm no longer in the "losing weight" mentality but rather in the "let's get in even better shape" mentality. If I happen to slim down while toning more, so be it, but I'm not really trying to lose additional weight. I'm at a very healthy weight for my height and I'd rather weigh a little bit more and have more defined muscle. It's all about how your clothes fit anyhow, right?!
That being said, my next fitness goal for 2012 is to train for and complete a sprint triathlon. A triathlon consists of three parts: swimming, cycling, and running. However, I didn't know until doing a little bit of research into triathlons that there are different types of triathlons because they vary in distance. The longest is an Ultra Distance Triathlon (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride, and a marathon run), which is more commonly referred to as the Ironman Triathlon- no thank you. It involves running a full marathon and maybe one day I'll do a marathon (let's be realistic though- I doubt I'll ever have the desire to do a full marathon), but at this juncture in my life, I have ZERO desire to run a full marathon. Next we have the Long Course Triathlon which consists of 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, and a half marathon- still no thank you. The Intermediate/Standard Triathlon, more commonly known as an Olympic Triathlon, consists of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, 10K run. This is doable in the future but I'm talking baby steps here. Then we have the Sprint Triathlon which is more my style for 2012. It consists of a 750 m swim, 20 km bike ride, and a 5K. Assuming I do well on that and don't feel like dying when it's over, I may consider pushing myself a little more and do the "Olympic" Triathlon.
I've always enjoyed swimming. I used to swim competitively back in the day (middle school era, ha) and dabbled into water polo when I lived in California in my early high school years. It's a great way to stay in shape and is one of the hardest sports out there. I haven't done any swimming for fitness though since I lived in Jacksonville, FL which means I haven't swam for fitness since 2008 (we moved to Atlanta in March 2009 and that is still too cold to be in an outdoor pool in Florida). The next feat would be getting past the bike ride. Ever since I fell off my bike on a camping trip summer before 4th grade, I haven't really had much of a desire to hop back on the bike! I know I can still ride a bicycle thanks to my parents owning them and I decided one day to ride the bike down the driveway and around the cul-de-sac. Keep in mind this was probably in summer of 2009 after they moved back to Atlanta so it's been a few years since I've ridden a bike. The running part will be no problem because as you all know, I have been running consistently for about a year and a half, so I'm not worried about that.
I think the part of the triathlon about which I'm most concerned is the biking. I almost have this irrational fear of falling off my bike again like I did when I was 8. That little spill resulted in 14ish stitches and a nasty scar on my left leg (thank goodness it's faded a lot over the past 19 years). I wasn't hurt too badly but to this day, it has left an impact on my feelings toward riding a bike. I don't want to get an injury so I've just always stayed off the bicycle unless it's stationary. It'd be pretty difficult to fall off of a stationary bike! To conquer this fear, I am going to start by working on the stationary bike (I plan on looking into a spin class) then I can take that training onto the open road! Let's hope it helps me get past this little bicycle issue I've had for almost two decades!
I will more than likely put off the training for this until summer so that I can complete the triathlon in early/mid fall as I don't want it to be too hot come race day. I also need to buy a onesie bathing suit (or a competitive swimming 2-piecer which I think I'd prefer). Another area of concern is the "transition area" between the triathlon components because I have NO idea how to effectively change from a bathing suit to bike clothes then bike gear to running gear. I guess I'll learn that when I start a training program as I definitely do not want everyone and their mother seeing all my goodies! I'm not necessarily worried about how quickly I can finish (even though I am ULTRA competitive and want to be the best at everything I do); I just want the self-satisfaction that I have completed a triathlon, a new milestone in my fitness journey. If anyone has ANY experience in triathlon training, I welcome any advice!! I'm looking forward to training for it though! It will certainly be tough, but I welcome it! Just as with the half marathon, I can't wait to say I'm a TRIATHLETE!
More to come when training is underway!!
All my love,
Britt!
That being said, my next fitness goal for 2012 is to train for and complete a sprint triathlon. A triathlon consists of three parts: swimming, cycling, and running. However, I didn't know until doing a little bit of research into triathlons that there are different types of triathlons because they vary in distance. The longest is an Ultra Distance Triathlon (3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride, and a marathon run), which is more commonly referred to as the Ironman Triathlon- no thank you. It involves running a full marathon and maybe one day I'll do a marathon (let's be realistic though- I doubt I'll ever have the desire to do a full marathon), but at this juncture in my life, I have ZERO desire to run a full marathon. Next we have the Long Course Triathlon which consists of 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, and a half marathon- still no thank you. The Intermediate/Standard Triathlon, more commonly known as an Olympic Triathlon, consists of a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike ride, 10K run. This is doable in the future but I'm talking baby steps here. Then we have the Sprint Triathlon which is more my style for 2012. It consists of a 750 m swim, 20 km bike ride, and a 5K. Assuming I do well on that and don't feel like dying when it's over, I may consider pushing myself a little more and do the "Olympic" Triathlon.
I've always enjoyed swimming. I used to swim competitively back in the day (middle school era, ha) and dabbled into water polo when I lived in California in my early high school years. It's a great way to stay in shape and is one of the hardest sports out there. I haven't done any swimming for fitness though since I lived in Jacksonville, FL which means I haven't swam for fitness since 2008 (we moved to Atlanta in March 2009 and that is still too cold to be in an outdoor pool in Florida). The next feat would be getting past the bike ride. Ever since I fell off my bike on a camping trip summer before 4th grade, I haven't really had much of a desire to hop back on the bike! I know I can still ride a bicycle thanks to my parents owning them and I decided one day to ride the bike down the driveway and around the cul-de-sac. Keep in mind this was probably in summer of 2009 after they moved back to Atlanta so it's been a few years since I've ridden a bike. The running part will be no problem because as you all know, I have been running consistently for about a year and a half, so I'm not worried about that.
I think the part of the triathlon about which I'm most concerned is the biking. I almost have this irrational fear of falling off my bike again like I did when I was 8. That little spill resulted in 14ish stitches and a nasty scar on my left leg (thank goodness it's faded a lot over the past 19 years). I wasn't hurt too badly but to this day, it has left an impact on my feelings toward riding a bike. I don't want to get an injury so I've just always stayed off the bicycle unless it's stationary. It'd be pretty difficult to fall off of a stationary bike! To conquer this fear, I am going to start by working on the stationary bike (I plan on looking into a spin class) then I can take that training onto the open road! Let's hope it helps me get past this little bicycle issue I've had for almost two decades!
I will more than likely put off the training for this until summer so that I can complete the triathlon in early/mid fall as I don't want it to be too hot come race day. I also need to buy a onesie bathing suit (or a competitive swimming 2-piecer which I think I'd prefer). Another area of concern is the "transition area" between the triathlon components because I have NO idea how to effectively change from a bathing suit to bike clothes then bike gear to running gear. I guess I'll learn that when I start a training program as I definitely do not want everyone and their mother seeing all my goodies! I'm not necessarily worried about how quickly I can finish (even though I am ULTRA competitive and want to be the best at everything I do); I just want the self-satisfaction that I have completed a triathlon, a new milestone in my fitness journey. If anyone has ANY experience in triathlon training, I welcome any advice!! I'm looking forward to training for it though! It will certainly be tough, but I welcome it! Just as with the half marathon, I can't wait to say I'm a TRIATHLETE!
More to come when training is underway!!
All my love,
Britt!
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