Duathlon in the Dark AND Practice Makes Perfect

Why two post titles? Well, I never got around to posting last night because we were training late--we did our first brick workout. So, I'm combining yesterday's post with today's.

Yesterday started out really rough. I woke up with a raging migraine (a 7-8 on a pain scale), so I ended up at home in bed nearly all day. Just before five o'clock, I had enough of being miserable all day, so I hopped on my bike. Marty joined me shortly after when he returned from work. We pedaled aimlessly (at least that's what stationary exercise seems to me) in our garage studio.

After a 45 minute ride on the bike, we decided we needed to get our run in, too. Did I mention that we both signed up for the VT City Marathon--6 days before the triathlon? Great idea, I know! We made some clothing, shoes, and gear changes and headed out for a 4 1/2 mile run. Normally, 4 1/2 miles wouldn't phase me, but my body definitely needs some time to adjust to the transition from biking to running. This makes our first official brick workout (brick workouts are any combination of exercises back-to-back). It was also our first duathlon in the dark.

This morning started much better. My migraine was gone in the morning, although it resurfaced mid-day. I rolled out of bed early to attend boot camp before work. Then, this evening we were back to the pool. I was greeted by my fellow trimates (tri team mates) in the pool who informed me they wanted to watch me swim after reading my entertaining descriptions of my swimming adventures on my blog. The pressure was on.

I actually feel like I made some progress (in the right direction) tonight. I amazed some of my friends during my warm up swim time. I heard comments like, "you're not that bad." I'm sure Micheal Phelps would say the same.

After warm ups our coach asked if anyone wanted to learn flip turns. We looked at her like she was crazy. I thought about saying yes just to see her reaction, but I didn't. So, instead we practiced pushing off from the pool wall. This is when I got to do the dolphin kick. When I came up, my coach said, "that was perfect!" I guess she could have been talking to someone else, but I'm pretty sure it was me.

When we finished swimming, we talked about feeling dehydrated and our coach reminded us that it's important to drink water while swimming. I felt thirsty, but not really dehydrated. If you drink water as you breathe in, like I do, I guess you don't need that much water. I'm guessing it's better to drink bottled water than the pool water. However, I'm hoping that all the chemicals I'm taking in will ward off any bacteria that enter my body.

I love swimming I may not be ready for the Olympics just yet, but I'm moving in the right direction. Literally!

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