First Swim of the Season

So, writing out the races I have planned last night actually really helped me get in the mindset of starting to think about a training plan.

I have approximately eight weeks between now and my triathlon and four weeks between now and Reach the Beach–and both are very different races.

One is a 24-hour relay race where I will be running a total of 19.82 miles, with some of those miles in the middle of the night after sleeping in a van.

One is a three-sport race.

How the eff do you train for both at the same time?

I’m still figuring out the exact logistics, but I’m thinking somewhere along these lines: the next four weeks, I’ll train for both, substituting the runs in the tri training for the runs in Reach the Beach training. Once the relay is over, I’ll just stick to the regular triathlon training schedule. (Mad props to my buddy Hal; this is what I used last year, too.)

Having this schedule in mind, and knowing I haven’t swum once since last summer, I decided to hit the pool today.

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It was another gorgeous day in New York, and I was more than happy to walk the mile to the gym.

I swam for about half an hour (totally losing track of how many yards I swam, per usual) and was completely humbled by how difficult swimming is, especially when you haven’t done it in a while. It’s such a great workout for me to zone out too, though, because I spend so much energy counting strokes between breaths and thinking about my form. There’s no way I could possibly think about anything else.

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I began walking home, stopped in a store and went to pull out my credit card before realizing I was missing my credit card and license. The gym said their policy was not to verify whether they had any lost items or not over the phone, so I walked another mile back, hoping and praying they actually had my stuff. They did, thank god.

And my dumb mistake meant another nearly two miles walking in the sunshine. Things could be worse.

12 comments on “First Swim of the Season

  1. Kerri

    I have a friend that does tris…he takes a penny for each lap he wants to swim and leaves them in a pile on the side of the pool. Every lap he does he moves a penny out of the pile (starting a new pile)
    Maybe that might help you keep track?

    Reply
  2. dorry

    impressed with your double training! I’m such a wimp about swimming, it’s pathetic. my goal was to overcome my fear before I turned 30, but that didn’t happen…

    Reply
  3. Mike

    Wow two events like that back to back. I wish you all the best. That 2 mile walk back to the gym was sure worth it as it saved you from the headaches losing your license and credit card would have given you.

    Reply
  4. Meg G

    You are going to love relay running! One suggestion I have is to NOT sleep in the van. Bring a sleeping pad, pillow and sleeping bag has been key to me getting any sleep during the overnight relays. I tried sleeping in the van the first year and my neck was very sore during my last leg. Not a worry I usually have during a run!

    Reply
  5. Kristina

    That sounds like a fun challenge! But, yes, a challenge. Glad that you recovered your stuff.
    What I really like about tri training is that biking and swimming are so much easier on your body than running. So, you can almost look at biking and swimming as recovery days for your body as you train for the relay.
    One thing – if you aren’t super experienced with open water swimming (not just splashing around but a serious swim), I would definitely try to get in a swim before the race.
    The only other advice – do get in one or two bike-run workouts so that you’re used to the feeling of running with leaden legs!

    Reply
  6. Nicole

    I hit the pool on Saturday and am still sore! I was so excited to have a lane to myself for about 20 minutes until Michael Phelps (sarcastic reference) decided to join my lane and make a lot of waves!

    Reply

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