Training for the Big One?!

TRAINING FOR THE BIG ONE?!

I can’t say exactly what the appeal of triathlons is, yet I am already beginning to feel that I want to step up to the next level, from “sprint” distance to “Olympic” distance. Last summer I tried an open lake swim in a sprint triathlon in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and thought I was going to drown with the choppy waves, but I made it, a little shaken and stirred, and came out of the water like someone does for the first time in shock water therapy. I then got on an old 1980’s Maruishi 12 speed and pedaled my way through 15 miles around the lake, and then, on practically the hottest day of the year, started jogging up a steep hill. Well, I did terribly at this event, so I can’t quite figure out why I would want to swim, bike and jog even further, but on that memorable day in Pewaukee, I knew that I wanted to continue to train and improve for these triple heart beat events.

Actually, I’ve been entering indoor triathlons (an oxymoron) since the late 1980’s at a local gym in Milwaukee. Of course the size of the age group I’ve been in is quite small, and if I am lucky, I can pull a first or second or sometimes a third place finish without totally dying. A few years ago I entered an AARP triathlon in Madison, and thought the combination of indoor pool, and outside cycling and jogging worked just fine. A few years later I started to add on biathlons (jog and cycle) but unfortunately the one I entered has now shut down. After the debacle in Lake Pewaukee, I joined a triathlon training group in the Milwaukee area, and started swimming in a nearby lake with other individuals training for lake swimming. After the first dip, I thought I had been infused with a miracle growth hormone, for I hadn’t felt better in my entire life. Perhaps I ingested a few lake microbes that actually gave me a short boost. But it’s a bit chilly out there today for a swim (temp=23F today) so I am back to my gym, working up to 36 full laps or about a mile. For a while, I could only manage 9 laps or ¼ mile, the distance for a sprint triathlon, but with practice and perseverance, I am now training at the mile distance.

So I have to get an upgrade from my 1980’s Maruishi 12 speed and I will need a wetsuit, but for now, I am happy to get up to the gym and envision that I am about to either dip into the Hudson River, or tackle 26 miles in Manhattan and environs, and finish off with a 10K in the Park. Count me in, everybody.