Less then 4 weeks away from my next trialthlon

So it is official... Average Iron Girl is 4 weeks away from her next triathlon. I am not going to lie... I am totally nervous. I have never done an ocean swim triathlon. I hope I haven't gotten in over my head. My last open water swim was in a large man made lake, Lake Las Vegas. Any swim not in a pool creeps me out. I can not look down! In fact, I think it is fairly normal to have a full blown panic attack. Many of the women in the last tri I did were panic! For me the difference between a lake swim and an ocean swim has to be the sharks! There is nothing more scary then entering into great white territory with a black wet suit hugging your body screaming, "I am a seal, eat me!" AAHHH... I have to stop or I might not do it! I will let you know how it goes.

Back to the training... Training with this fear, I realize that I probably will start swimming out of breath. So, in the nice call pool where there isn't a lockness monster or a great white shark waiting to eat me I try and master a shorter breathing pattern so the day of the race it won't feel awkward. I normally breathe every 4 strokes. I know I should rotate to 3 or 5 but I like 4. Every few days though I make sure and practice 2 stroke breaths. Hopefully, this will help me calm my fear race day. Pendleton Here I come!

Let the Training begin!

I know some of you may have started training when I put the 22 week program on...yea for you guys! I on the other hand have put it off until today. Today was my first official day of training for Iron Girl. In all honesty I have never ever set a goal like this for myself. Events like this have always been for other people. I am so excited to be one of those "Other People" this year. Thanks for joining me on the ride!

So today I started my workout with a 3 mile walk... I walk, I don't run!! At least not yet. Luckily I have a very dedicated walking buddy who I can barely keep up with. In fact most of the time I think it would be better if I were running. I am grateful for a work out partner who silently pushes me. She never tells me to catch up. She never gives me a hard time for being 3 steps behind at all times... she just goes faster. I think on purpose... so I have to push myself harder. And when I have just about crooked over and died she grabs the 75 lbs stroller I have been heaving along and takes a turn pushing so I can recover. The stroller always makes her slow up just a bit. Not much... just enough for me to recover before I get it back! One of my favorite websites to visit is called MapMyRun.com. You guessed it... it Maps Your Run/bike ride/walk so you know how far you have gone. Love it and I am sure I will be using it frequently during my training.

After I got home from my "speed" walk I spent 30 minutes doing a workout video for abs, core, and butt. Now I can completely assure all of you that this Average Iron Girl CAN'T (AIG) walk any more! My legs are totally unreliable right now!