Me, my plans and Running….

I have a goal of completing a triathlon one of these days. I am not sure when—I am flirting with the idea of doing it at the end of this year or early 2010, but am a bit intimated as I believe that I am so out of shape. However, since I am trying to not live my life like a dress rehearsal, but like “opening night”, then I have to consider it—so I am considering it!

Since a triathlon includes: running, biking and swimming, I need to be very strategic in my endeavor as I have a deficit in all three areas—so I have decided to REALLY focus and break this endeavor into small chunks. I need to take some swimming lessons, I need to buy a bike and maybe join a training team, and most importantly, I need to TRAIN.

Short term training strategy
I explored swimming lessons at my local park and found out they have 15 lessons in each level for $40. I must first do a swim audit to gauge my level then I can start classes in the spring—so that’s coming.

I have put a hold on buying the bike or joining a team right now because of the cost involved, but will look at it again in a few months. In the interim, I will add one or two spinning classes per week to my gym schedule.

The Trick…
I have been struggling with going to the gym on a regular basis, so I have tricked myself—yes it’s possible to do that :-)! I am in this challenge with a colleague at work, who is getting married in 13 weeks and want to lose some weight. The rule is simple—go to the gym for five days per week (Mon. – Sun) or pay $5 for each day you don’t go—the winner gets the bag. This is a big incentive for us because we are both watching EVERY penny we spend. So paying $5 is not an option. Also, it’s the first $5 that you don’t want to pay, because the fear is that once you start…We are capturing this using a whiteboard in my office, so I am VERY motivated—especially when I see YES beside her name and NO beside mine. Last week, I could not go on Monday or Tuesday so I had to go five days in a row. Be clear that this week I am getting at least one day rest :-)! The challenge is on for the Month of February and I have another colleague who asked that I do it with her in March and I have already committed...

Running
My biggest struggle is the running—it terrifies me because I think that you have to be in primo shape to do it, so I have been doing the elliptical machine and the stair climber. One might think that this is great—at least you are exercising. Well since I can’t successfully complete a triathlon on an elliptical Machine, I need to start running, so I tackled it yesterday. I went on the treadmill and decided that I am going to get over my fear of running or die trying—literally. I found out that I can only run straight for 2.5 minutes and so I did about six 2.5 minute segments in 45 minutes and walk fast in between. I was exhausted when I got home, but felt great!! Secretly, I think that part of the problem is my breathing and the other part is my fear as I watch the clock—I need to just calm down. My plan today is to Google “running techniques for a beginners” and go to the gym tonight to see if I can run for 3 mins. My goal is to be able to run for 5 mins straight without passing out! I wonder how long that will take? can’t wait to share it with you-I see this as getting content for the chapters in the story of: ” “How I did my first triathlon :-)!

The thing is that yesterday something shifted for me—I was really proud of myself and am truly going to press thru this… so stay plugged in and take this journey with me and who knows—maybe your name will make it into the book :-).

Let me know if you have any strategies for running or if you know anyone that wants to get rid of a good bike becasue they no longer have space for it. Keep an eye out for me if/when you are on craigslist.

N