I’ve officially kicked off base-training for my first triathlon this past week … I took advantage of the fact that I’m in recovery from the Hartford marathon, so I decided to try to get a schedule together for mixing it up.

As most newbie triathletes would agree, swimming is the biggest training concern I have right now. Its not that I can’t swim, because I can, I’m just not too good at it. I got myself a nice set of goggles this past week, they’re Barracuda Hydrobat Swim goggles, and so far they are working out pretty good. I realized the need to get an actual swimsuit that swimmers wear since I look like an idiot in my beach bathing suit in the pool. I ordered up a Speedo Men’s Race Nylon Lycra Solid Jammer Swimsuit, and NO, its not one of those awful tight bikini speedo’s that old hairy men wear to the beach .. but it should help me feel more like a swimmer.

I was able to get in some swim time 2 times this past week, working on 25m laps .. the most I did in a day is 350m, which isn’t too bad but i’m really just looking to work on my form. I expect to pick up some private lessons in December sometime after I get some technique down. The most I can say about swimming is that its really a good workout, it beats out a 10 mile run any day. I’m digging up some different types of drills I can do though, like this morning I tried using the pull buoy and almost drowned from it. You’re supposed to put it between your legs to keep your legs afloat so you can focus on your stroke, well, its not as easy as it sounds. The funniest thing is that I never sweated before when swimming .. I guess didn’t realize I was sweating until I was done and got out of the pool and realized that I was dripping in sweat from the workout. It was kind of a weird feeling but my whole body was sore.. that tells me I had a good workout (even though it was only about 20 minutes in the pool).

Along with the swimming comes the resistance training, yep, i’m actually lifting weights now. The results of my fitness assessment indicated that I really needed to get some upper body strength, especially for the swim. I also got on the treadmill one day this past week and did the bike this morning …

So far, so good .. I’m enjoying the fact that i’m mixing up my workouts now, although i’m still focused on one more marathon in November. I think I can do both, I just run the longer distances in the morning and swing by the gym after work .. or I do a shorter distance on the treadmill and catch a swim before work.. whatever works. The hope is I can actually get in better shape and drop a few pounds over the next 4 weeks to help me run that race better … its hopeful thinking, but I think its achievable.