It has been roughly two weeks since I decided to train for a sprint triathlon, and I've been sticking to my self-created training schedule very closely. Last Wednesday, my mission was to check out the public pool down the road from our house, get a feel for how crowded it is, how everything works, etc. The hubs was a super sport and came along with me to check things out, and perhaps next time we will take turns swimming/watching the kid. More on that later.
At first glance, the pool was exactly what I was expecting. Large Olympic size pool, smaller shallow pool filled with toddlers adjacent, lanes, flags, swim clocks, and bleachers for parents/on lookers. I put my things into a locker and rinsed off before heading out to the pool. When I got closer to the large pool, I noticed it had a crazy deep end and high dive. This meant that I could jump in like a little kid, unlike the Y where the whole pool is 4ft deep or whatever. It's the little things. Not sure if it was a fluke day due to really nice weather outside, but the pool only had a few occupants and I was able to grab a whole lane to myself!
With a real size pool (25m), I could actually count my distance, and create benchmarks to train with. My first goal was to swim 10 laps (250m) unbroken, and see how long that took me. 250m is about half of the distance in the sprint triathlon. I put my goggles on, took note of the time, and off I went. I swam and counted. Swam and counted. When I got to 10, I stopped at the end of the pool, could feel a little red faced, and looked at the clock. Five minutes had passed. I was pretty happy about that. I was tired for sure, but I know I'll be able to build up to 600m no problem, and have a goal to swim that in 12 minutes or less. I swam 10 or so more laps at a leisurely pace, and then was satisfied with my first real training swim. The hubs and baby were enjoying watching the toddlers in the pool, and in a few weeks, infant swim lessons start up at the same time as lap swim, so, I can get my training in, and the hubs can be teaching baby to swim. Everyone wins!
Last Friday I had a 20 minute run scheduled, as I'm trying to slowly build up to a longer sustained run. Our CrossFit workouts that week (Wednesday/Thursday) happened to be running heavy, so I was getting plenty of run time in. I packed up the jogging stroller and drove down to the bike path by my house. The kid and I hit the trail, and I was able to run for 20 minutes straight, pushing a stroller. I was happy with that. I wasn't paying attention to distance this time, but I will start. After the 20 minute jog, I walked for a bit, and noticed the kid fell asleep, not wanting to wake a sleeping baby, I kept walking around the shopping mall next to the bike path (and maybe bought a few things).
Yesterday (Sunday) one of my friends that is doing the triathlon with me suggested we go for a swim. She offered to watch baby while I swam, and then she could swim once I was done. It worked out great. I jumped in for a quick 20 minutes of swimming (got in 26+ laps), got out, hung out in the bleachers with baby while my friend swam. As hard as it is to coordinate, I've always enjoyed working out with other people. It is motivating, social, and holds me accountable. I'm hoping we can get in as many of these Sunday swims as possible.
Next on the agenda- bike ride. I haven't been on a (non stationary) bike in probably a year or so. Being super pregnant last summer, a bike was the last place I wanted to be. Not sure when I can fit a ride in just yet, but hopefully soon.
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