Chumdinger

Swim. Bike. Run. Sounds easy enough… when done separately. But doing all three back to back to back? I finally decided to attempt my first triathlon after encouragement from a couple friends that’ve been doing it for a while. I signed up 8 days ago and the race is happening 3 days from now! Friends have told me that this race, the Camp Pendleton Spring Triathon, should be pretty “easy” with “only” a 500 yard swim, a 30k bike, and 5k run. Haha, we’ll see.

I had a couple things going against me: I didn’t have a lot of time to train (less than 2 weeks). Other than some cardio after lifting at the gym, I’ve not really done any endurance training — never swam laps in a pool before, never ridden a road bike, or ridden with clip-in bike shoes, and had not ever run further than a mile and half without having to stop.

But I had a couple things going in my favor as well. Awesome friends that have taken me under their wing — “Coach” Jon Hipp set up my accelerated triathlon prep, gave me feedback on each workout, and was an encourager every step of the way; “Coach” Courtney Smith trained me on the bike and swim and fixed a lot of things I was doing wrong (more on that later); and friends Jordan, Todd, Jed, Gina and Heather that signed up for the race too. The other thing in my favor, I’ve been pretty athletic lately with beach volleyball on the weekends, hikes at Runyan & Fryman Canyons, and weight training at the gym.

Since registering for the race, I’ve trained for 10 days. Here’s a daily log of what I’ve been doing:

Day 1, Friday 7/22 – An hour on the spin bike plus a 2 mile run (had to walk it twice). First ever doing them back to back.

Day 2, Monday 7/25 – 250 yards in the pool. More like four 25 yard swims and four 50 yard swims. This was my first time swimming laps and I was having a hard time. I think my technique is lacking. Then did an hour on the bike followed by a 1.5 mile run. So exhausted the next day, I couldn’t get myself back to the gym. I have a long ways to go. Also, I found out what a brick workout was (thanks Jordan). It’s when you do two different disciplines one right after another.

Day 3, Wednesday 7/27 – 3 mile run today, longest I’ve ever done. I need to work on this thing called endurance. // 10 days to go.

Day 4, Thursday 7/28 – 16.5 miles on my mountain bike from Culver City to Marina Del Rey to El Segundo and back with friend Mike. I’m planning on borrowing a road bike for the race but not picking it up until the weekend.

Day 5, Friday 7/29 – 550 yard swim (still doing it wrong), an hour on the spin bike, and a 2.75 mile run. I was aiming for race distance of 3.1 miles but my legs started cramping up. I tried to simulate doing the entire race. // 8 days to go.

Day 6, Saturday 7/30 – Picked up a road bike from friends Shea and Courtney and then bought a pair of clip-in bike shoes. Rode 23.5 miles from Culver City to Marina Del Rey to Manhattan Beach and back with Mike. The worse part… a bee flew into my helmet and stung my head. I learned that I’m not allergic to bee stings, good to know. The best part… zero falls using clip-in shoes for the first time. Wow, this bike is fast! So much faster than my mountain bike.

Day 7, Sunday 7/31 – Spent an hour in the pool with coach Courtney. She taught me proper swim technique and fixed everything I was doing wrong, which was a lot! Head was up, wrong stroke, breathing incorrectly, not kicking, not rotating my shoulders, to name a few… Then did two 250yrd swims at the end that felt a lot more comfortable. // 6 days to go.

Day 8, Monday 8/1 – An hour on the spin bike + 2 mile run this morning. Starting to feel better and more confident. // 5 days to go.

Day 9, Tuesday 8/2 – Swim intervals this morning while practicing correct technique, about 750 yards total. Then did a 25.1 mile bike ride in the evening, averaging about 20mph during the last 10.5 miles. I also got to hang out with old friend and super athlete Marcus George. He lent me his tri wetsuit for the race and gave me some pointers. Marcus and I were housemates back in college and he has gone on to do a lot for the sport of triathlon. Check out his bio.

Day 10, Today 8/3 – 1000 yards in the pool (2×250 + 5×100) plus a quick mile run. I’m finally feeling comfortable in the pool and should be able to get through the 500 yard ocean swim on race day at a decent pace. But I have to prepare myself for the waves and the water being crowded with swimmers. // 3 days left!

Tomorrow I’m resting, Friday is a light workout, and Saturday is race day! This last week and a half has been a whirlwind, but well worth it. I think this weekend will be a lot of fun with 6 of us doing the race. I wish I had more time to prepare but I’ve been realizing that it’s really about the journey and I’ve been enjoying the process every step of the way. Wish me luck!