My list of upcoming races has been slowly dwindling as the season is in its final month for Minnesota. The Square Lake Short Course is on September 12th and then the TC 10 Mile is on October 4th. I’ll spend the next three weeks training for both races and then concentrate on the 10 Mile. I’ve been thinking about what goals I have for these last two races.

The Short Course race is longer than a regular Sprint but shorter than the Olympic distance. It will be a .5 mile swim, 18 mile bike, and a 5 mile run. My understanding is that the bike and run courses are very, very hilly. Hey, at least the swim course is flat! Ha… ha… Hills and I are not the best of friends. Gentle, long upward slopes and I are good buddies, but steep hills are my enemy. I’ve never done a hill workout before, but I think it’s time that I put some on the schedule. A 5 mile run after a hilly bike ride will be a real challenge for me. My training for Square Lake will focus on the run. Even if my time is slow, I want to run the whole way and conquer the hills.

Luckily for me, I understand the the TC 10 Mile course is also very hilly (note sarcasm). My Square Lake run training will fit nicely into my training for this next race. In addition to running, I’ll be continuing to address some physical issues I’ve been having. Since the 14 mile charity run I did at the beginning of August, I’ve been struggling with hamstring tendinitis in both legs. I mentioned that people were asking if I was limping or hurt, so I decided it was time for some medical intervention. I got my hamstrings worked on, did some ART (Active Release Technique) Therapy, and I’m doing exercises to strengthen the hamstrings. It’s all working and they are feeling better, but my pace is consistently 30 seconds a mile slower than it really should be. My goal for the TC 10 Mile right now is to forget about pace and get the training miles and exercises done. If I can make it to race day injury free and run the race without pain, that will be a success. I love running in the fall and winter, so I want to be healthy when the race is over so I can enjoy the cooler temps.

So I guess I have a lot of hills in my future. I’ll do my first hill workout this weekend. I’m a little nervous about it, but it will be fun to try something new. I was nervous for my first track workout and it turns out I like track workouts. Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic!

After three and a half days in bed with a fever, headache, sinus pain and general malaise, I’m up! The doctor gave me some precious antibiotics on Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon I was able to stay vertical long enough to get some laundry done. Today, I’m still too snotty and fatigued to exercise, but I was able to meet a friend for coffee/Diet Coke and PICK UP MY WETSUIT!

Even though I haven’t worked out since last Friday, my triathlon has stubbornly stayed on my calendar for this Sunday. For a little while I was thinking about not doing it, but I’ve decided that I will do it barring a relapse. The entry fee has been paid, the wetsuit has been rented, and my bike sherpa has agreed to come along to cheer. The stars are aligned so I am going to be at the start line.

The combination of missing this last week of training and coming off being sick makes me a little worried about the race. The fact that it is a Sprint makes it a lot easier to contemplate doing it with a little less training and a little less energy. It finally came down to the fact that I need the experience. Having not done a triathlon before, I know nothing. Even if I just get through the swim, I know it will give me more confidence going into my Olympic distance tri at the end of June. If I feel great, then great. If I don’t, then I’ll just take it slow and try to learn as much as I can along the way. That’s one benefit of doing something new: I’m guaranteed a PR. Well, I guess that’s assuming that I finish.

I know some people wouldn’t want to risk a DNF, but I look at it a different way. This is not my race for Olympic Gold. This is not my lifelong dream. This is just one of many steps along my path to enjoying life. If I have to drop out, then that’s what I’ll do. Who cares? My goal this summer is to try to find an activity that is healthy and that I enjoy. End of story. In the meantime, I guess I’ll get to add worrying about water temperature to my weather related obsession. The forecast is for the lake to be 70 degrees. I’ve never done any open water swimming… is that cold?

I have this weekend and next weekend before my first triathlon, so I figured I better get out there and try a brick workout. This past winter I did a bike/run workout using the bike on a trainer and the treadmill, but I only did it once and it was pretty hard. This weekend was the perfect opportunity to try a real brick. The weather this morning was a sunny 60 degrees and my legs are feeling a little more rested from the marathon, so there were no excuses.

I mapped out a 20 mile bike ride from my house and set up a little transition area in my garage. About 6 miles into the bike, I noticed I couldn’t get one of my shoes out of the clips. Turns out I lost a screw from where the clip attaches to the bottom of my shoe and the other screw was very loose. Luckily, my bike mechanic/husband packed my little saddle bag with a set of hexy-screwdrivery-things, so I was able to get the single screw remaining tight enough that I could make it for the rest of the ride. Other than that, it was an uneventful, beautiful ride with fantastic weather and lots of other bikers to say hi to along the way.

When I got home from the bike ride, I quickly got myself ready for the run. Halfway down the driveway, I realized that I still had my bike shorts on. I had worn some spandex shorts underneath for the ride so I could just slip the bike shorts off and not have to run with the chamois. I have a pair of tri-shorts, but right now my newbie tushie needs a little more padding on the bike. That is probably TMI, but the point is I had to stop, take off my shorts and toss them in the yard. I’m really happy that I practiced the transition and will definitely practice this a few more times before the race so I don’t forget anything.

So then it was time for the run. I never really thought about what “brick” was supposed to be referring to, but it instantly came to me as I started to run. My legs certainly felt like “bricks” for the first mile. Surprisingly, my pace was a little faster than I would have expected and my heart rate was fine. It seems like it was just a weird sensation in my legs that wasn’t really effecting my performance. I only ran 2 miles, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I have to run farther. I have another bike ride tomorrow, though, and I didn’t want to tire my legs out any more than the 2 miles I had planned.

After surviving my first brick workout, I’m looking forward to trying it again. I learned a lot from it and it breaks up the time having the transition in between activities. Right now the race is still far enough away and everything tri related is new enough that training is just a whole lot of fun. I’m guessing next week, when the race gets closer, that I will start to get nervous. For today, though, fun is good.

One week out from the marathon, I’m working on letting my legs recover while I try to get ready for my first triathlon. Recover and train at the same time? I’m giving it a try. After training for 3 marathons in one year, I really want to give my legs some time to fully heal.

I took 5 days off from running. I lifted weights, swam a couple times, and did a couple spin classes this week. It was nice to get up and decide what I was going to do based on the weather and my other commitments instead of being dictated to by a schedule. It’s the first time in 18 months that I haven’t had a schedule telling me what to do each day.

I ran a few miles on Friday, and then again today. Today was a beautiful day, and I just had to get out on my bike. You may recall that the fork on my bike was cracked. Trek sent a loaner fork so I could use my bike while they come up with exact fork for my particular model.

Clad in my Mother’s Day bike helmet and Sidi shoes, my first outdoor bike ride of the season almost ended 5 seconds after it started. I clipped into my pedals with my new shoes and quickly realized that I could not get them unclipped. They must fit my pedals more snugly than my old ones. Panicked, I struggled to twist and pull my foot out. I thought I was going to have to make an emergency landing in the grass. I finally got them unclipped safely. Luckily, my bike mechanic, Mike, was home and with a quick pedal adjustment, I was off on an 11 mile ride.

This was just a quick ride to try and get more familiar with my bike. I’m still not very good at keeping a straight line, especially when I’m down on my aero bars. I’m nervous grabbing for my water bottle, and I still have to really think about what I need to do to shift gears in the right direction. I’m getting the hang of it, though, and it’s a whole lot of fun.

After I was done, I took off my front tire, flatted it, and practiced changing it. I did it, but very slowly. If I had to do it in a race, they would be closing the course by the time I was finished. I’ll have to practice that some more, but I was glad I at least got it accomplished.

Tomorrow I’ll get to wake up and decide what I feel like doing based on the weather and my mood. I’m hoping to try a longer bike ride and maybe get in a short swim. I’m glad this first triathlon is a short one and that I have zero expectations, because I’m really enjoying this little “do whatever the heck I feel like” break.