Wrapping Up Triathlon Training

The Keystone State Sprint Triathlon on Sunday marked my last triathlon of the year. I toyed with the idea of doing another one in two weeks but right now I want to focus on training for the New York City Marathon in November. With that being said I would much rather keep training for triathlons. After years (10 to be exact) of only doing one sport I love the variety of triathlon training. I don't get bored or overworked even with higher training volumes.

At the beginning of this year I was only planning on doing triathlon to fill the space between training for a spring half and fall full marathon. I never expected to enjoy both training and racing triathlons so much. I have made so much progress in a pretty short amount of time and know that I am capable of a lot more. While part of me is sad to be done with triathlons for the year, I am mostly excited to dedicate next year only to swim/bike/running.

After Sunday' race I thought it would be neat to look back and compare it to last year's race to get an even better idea of how far I've come in only a year.

Swim- 13:52 v 11:10
T1- 1:23 v 1:06
Bike- 1:22:31 v 1:04:04
T2- 1:01 v :57
Run- 26:13 v 25:55
Overall- 2:05:00 v 1:43:14

Obviously the biggest difference is my bike splits. Part of it is that I upgraded from a hybrid to a road bike but most of it is just that I worked really hard on the bike leg this year. With my new bike I actually enjoyed riding, which made a huge difference. I started off the summer pretty terrified of riding my new bike, being extremely cautious on all turns and downhills because I didn't feel confident enough in my handling skills. I also started off the summer with a nagging hip pain when I ran and dreading all scheduled swims.

The day before I left for vacation I completed a ride that included two hills that I've always wanted to try climbing but was too scared to. I wanted to push myself before leaving so that I'd be ready for the hills at Keystone so I did both hills in the same ride plus some other killer climbs. I was tired, cranky, ready to be at the beach but mostly wanted to show myself I could do it.

On Sunday when my quads were screaming earlier than normal I went back to that ride and those hills. I knew if I could make it up those I would be fine. I thought back to the river ride with the boyfriend and how hard that was but how I pushed through anyway. For the first time ever my mind & body are on the same page & that excites me. I've struggled with anxiety, panic attacks, and pretty extreme negative self-talk before so when my mind is on board I know I'm doing something right.

Taking home 2nd place female!

So now that I am back at school & turning my focus to marathon training does not mean that swimming and biking stop. I have to swim twice a week for a gym credit and am hoping to find a weekly group ride I can go to. I hate riding inside on the trainer & don't live in the most bike friendly area but am hoping to ride as much as my schedule allows. I never thought I would like riding so much & couldn't imagine hanging up my bike for the rest of the year.