Commitment is the First Step (or should I be committed ??)

On the List of "Top 5 Things Carole Anne wants to Do" has always been a Triathalon. Why ?  Because I think I can.  And, us A/ T Type personalities are not happy unless we have a "new" challenge / goal in front of us at all times; otherwise we get bored.   Daunting, scary as hell, massive commitment to training, and only for the extremely fit, I was prepping last winter to tackle my first one in the Spring of 2011. 

Then I was sidelined by a shoulder impingement ! (I tried to bribe my Physiotherapist but he was having none of it) - and told me to "shut it down" till 2012.  'Do not lift your shoulder over your head'.....uh, OK Bob...I will sleep in my clothes.... (he said he can't nag his wife so he would nag me).  

For those of you who are not aware, there are several types of Tri's to do. 

"Tri a Tri" - less distance but still 3 sports.  (300m Swim - 9km Bike - 3km Run) The usual format for a duathlon is run-bike-run, meaning you start with a run, then  transition to the bike, then transition back to running again.

  Duathalon -

Triathalon - 750 metre Swim, 20K Bike, 5 K Run.

Ironman - 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile - (this scares me to even type those distances)

I have decided on the Tri-A-Tri for starters.   Everyone has a "weak" part of a Tri.  Mine is the swim part.  Everyone who swims thinks they are "good swimmers" ("oh, yeah I swam in the lake when I was a kid, I was a flippin' dolphin" they will tell you...).  NOW take that mindset into a pool and try to do 14 lengths across without stopping.   YOU my friend are on the bottom of the pool and very humbled at just how bad a swimmer you really are !!!

However, I have a "secret weapon" to help me in my quest to be Marilyn Bell.   My sister, is going to be my swim trainer (either that, or she is thinking this may be the way to get rid of me..)

She is for some inexplicable reason, a great swimmer and can float like a beach ball)  - it blows my mind...( I have my theories about my she can float so well).

So she is going to make sure I don't go down like the Titanic on my first Tri (try) !   I feel better about my training with this part out of the way.

Running - no problem there - I can bang out 5K like a walk in the park

Bike - last summer I bought a wickedly awesome Giant Brand (all Canadian made) Road Bike which I LOVE !   This past spring I went to get "fitted" for it and also got "click in" shoes which look great and you have to have special shoes for....but are "FREAKIN' SCARY AS HELL".

You are "locked in" to the pedals and even though they put you on a "trainer" in the store, they forget to really tell you the steps to apply to get your foot out on time.

So off I go - "fitted" to my bike (we are one now) and on my first official ride.  Lance Armstrong, look out.  I tear off around Uxbridge stunned at how fast this bike will go, and eventually teh inevitable happens.....I come to a stop sign.  Brakes go on, I am stopping, but "oh Shit", I forgot to click one of my shoes out first !   In what can only be described as "slow motion", I start to fall to one side and down I go.  The only pain was to my pride....(I can almost hear the cat calls..."hey, first day on your new bike ?" ha, ha, ha. )  

Back home I come (on my bike as I finally get back on the thing) - sprained thumb and Bike "Cherry" broke !!  I feel slightly better when I read a favorite blogger of mine later who has a similar story.

I am now a Biker Chick and much more comfortable with that part of my training.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN !! 

So, I have committed; but maybe should be "committed" - IT'S ON !!!