Its been about 3 weeks since I started swimming and I think i’m starting to like it. I can’t say that its the favorite thing I do, but after you start to get some form and figure out some of the some basics, it does start to become fun. Many years ago when I first started running, it was just about the same feeling, it was never fun to go out and run (well, go on the treadmill in those days) because i just wasn’t in shape to enjoy it. Eventually as I evolved and got better, it got to be fun … well, i’m not necessarily good at swimming, I still have a lot to learn, but its getting easier. The biggest challenge and major breakthrough i’ve made so far is learning to keep my head down in the water enough so that I can stay parallel and reduce my drag .. I find it cuts down on the effort I need to make with my stroke, but it also challenges me to modify my breathing. Its tough, but i’ll get it. I was able to get in a total of 600 meters today (made up of a mix of 25m and 50m’s laps)… actually, the 50m is getting easier than it was..

As you can tell, most of my focus right now is on swimming and resistance training, so that I can become a stronger swimmer, but with just two weeks left in my marathon season, that should allow me to start to mix in more cycling as well. The running to me isn’t the issue, I know I can do it, I just need to keep a base for running (25 miles a week or so and not every day). I’m spending the most time swimming, then i’ll mix in more cycling soon and keep up with some running, which reminds me I need to build a formal base training plan in the next two weeks…

Its funny that when you think about a triathlon, you think about it as three distinct events when maybe I shouldn’t be thinking that way. What I mean is that i’ve been scheduling one workout where I swim, then lift weights, then do my recovery run on the treadmill, and those days are hard. I find that i’m exhausted coming out of the pool, and even with a break in between the pool and the treadmill while I lift, I’m tired getting on the treadmill for just 4 easy miles.. I can only imagine mixing in 20-25 miles on a bike, this whole thing might be more than I bargained for, but i’m up for the challenge.

I hope to start getting some spin classes in after my marathons are done to help build some endurance on the bike and continue to increase my cardio. We’ll see how that goes.