It's been just over a week since I agreed to take part in the Mauao sprint triathlon, and since then it's been a week of early morning swimming lessons and late night runs or bike rides.
I come from a strong sporting family _ both my parents ran marathons _ and I've
been involved in my own sporting codes over the years, so this was a challenge I was eager to grab.
The length of the Mauao sprint triathlon, now sponsored by Marra Construction, is 750m swim, 20km bike and 5.5km run. Of the three disciplines running is my forte. I'm not terribly fast but I have endurance _ I know I can complete 5.5km without a concern. I've played hockey for about 15 years and have pushed my body through boot camps and other exercise regimes.
I took part in the Great Lake Relay around Lake Taupo last weekend and completed a 10.1km leg in 56mins _ not bad considering 4km of it was up a steep hill. I'm also not too bothered about cycling 20km. It's an achievable distance and with a bit of guidance I should nail it.
As for the swim leg ... frankly I'm terrified!
I am confident in the water but haven't had a swimming lesson for a decade, so 750m is a challenge.
To get me to an acceptable triathlon standard I've been offered the services of coach Brad Dixon from Triathlon Tauranga. At our first meeting last week we chatted about my goals and worked out a training plan that fits in with my hockey and soccer commitments. We planned to catch up during the week to discuss how things were going but I'm yet to have any problems, which is a good sign.
Sheryl McLay has kindly offered assistance in the pool and I'm swimming three mornings a week at 6am and on Saturday morning in Pilot Bay.
In my first session, Sheryl said what I thought was a pathetic attempt at swimming ''not too bad''. I'll take her word for it.
It's not easy though. The pool sessions are hard and the biggest challenge is learning to control my breathing. But after an hour of spluttering up and down the pool I'm invigorated and ready to crack into a day's work.
With one week down, I've got 31/2 weeks until the big race on March 20.
Follow my journey as I share my ups and downs of training for my first triathlon. And wish me luck
Long, hard road ahead as I count down to triathlon
It's been just over a week since I agreed to take part in the Mauao sprint triathlon, and since then it's been a week of early morning swimming lessons and late night runs or bike rides.
I come from a strong sporting family _ both my parents ran marathons _ and I've
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
