Esther Triathlons NYC

(not) Ready, (not) Set, (but gotta) GO!

Training Week 1, Day 1.

The whole TNT tri team is on Week 4 of training and I feel totally behind. Part of the reason I’m lagging is because I signed up Week 2 of training AND it’s been harder to get into the discipline of training than I had originally thought.

Not to waste a minute longer, I kicked off the 2011 training season tonight with a familiar 3 mile run in the hood with Mr. Symon Hallam. The last time I ran/jogged/put my sneakers on was when I crossed the finished line at last year’s triathlon. To be honest this last sentence isn’t completely true. A couple days after last year’s race, I did attempt a run with Tammy. If memory serves me right, we ran 2 blocks before we decided that both of us hate running and that we would go eat instead.

So here we are 9 months since I’ve trained or done any kind of exercise (I define exercise as running and swimming). What I have been doing in the past 9 months is The Bar Method. It’s sort of like pilates and yoga, but better. It’s definitely helped maintain my core, but because it’s far more enjoyable than running and swimming, it’s difficult for me to see it as exercise. It’s just something I did about 5 times a week for an hour to keep myself from becoming a winter stricken blob, but because I didn’t loathe every minute of it, I don’t see it as exercise.

What a difference a 9 months makes!

Because I haven’t trained, I hadn’t touched any of my gear! I had to adjust my Polar watch and bump up my weight by 7 pounds. To make me feel even sadder, I had to extend the chest belt for my heart monitor because it was an inch too tight. 

As I started the run, I felt that the run was easier. For the pace I was keeping, my heart rate was low and it was overall easier for me to maintain last year’s pace. I also realized that my thighs had gotten strong from The Bar Method and I was taking longer, higher, bouncier strides. At the same time, I was acutely aware of what I lost and am lacking. My ankles felt weak, I felt as though I was pronating. My shins felt weak. My shins felt weak! I never knew I had shin muscles till they were gone! My back felt weak. And just generally speaking, I felt like I forgot how to maintain good form and running posture.

I worry about how I’m gonna get through training and how I’m gonna complete this race without giving up. But I guess I’ll worry about those things later. All I know for now, is that I finished day 1 with a 3 mile run pacing at 9.5 min/mi. And with that, I went to Georgia’s Eastside BBQ for a friend chicken sandwich, with cheese.