Swim Lesson and Triathlon advice

Tonight Stacy and I met with Ryan and had a private swimming lesson. It was very helpful.

After the lesson Ryan and I ate dinner at Whole Foods on 400 South and talked triathlons. I'm going to write down as much as I remember from our discussion. Sure do wish there were one of those places in Utah County.

Even though Eric (my PT) made me run a 5K on Monday (without stopping - which I have never done in my entire life), Ryan told me it was OK to walk a bit if necessary so I don't use too much energy during the race especially since the run is first.

BTW - my 5K at the gym was not pretty. I was dying - almost puked and I was begging him like a baby to let me rest.

Ryan and I talked about breathing - it is important during all three events that I remember to breathe deep and slowly and stay relaxed. Ryan even suggested setting my watch to beep every four minutes or so as a reminder.

I asked Ryan about learning how to do a flip turn. He told me not to worry about it at this point and just try to turn around without touching the wall with my hands. The flip turn is for another time.

We talked about what to wear. He suggested I wear my swim suit with my biker shorts on top and if I want a t-shirt or tank top. He also told me I should try running and biking in this outfit before the race in case it is uncomfortable and doesn't work - I thought this was very good advice. So I run in my biker shorts and swim suit and then bike in them both and then when I get to the pool, I strip down and finish the race.

We talked about transitions - this triathlon is the easiest transition. So I don't have to worry about laying out all my clothes but I will need to worry about having my helmet easily accessible with the straps un-clipped.

I asked Ryan about what to eat the night before and the morning of... he suggested the pasta/spaghetti dinner the night before and some oatmeal or a bagel the morning of. He also suggested finding out how long I need to let my food digest before running because it is different for everyone. Ryan eats a steak about four days before the race to make sure he gets some protein in his system. He also has some kind of protein shake to be sure he gets the vitamins he needs as well. Here is a quote from Ryan in regard to eating ... "EAT TO TRAIN. DON'T TRAIN TO EAT."

The week of the race it is important to still work out but not as intense. You need to remind your body of the movements. Monday I can run but the other days I should take it easy - walk, bike easily with not a lot of tension, and swim ... hmm I can't remember exactly what he said about swimming that week. Good thing Stacy and I are going to have another session with him before the race.

Ann Dee and Stacy are doing the race with me. Stacy cause she is nice and knows that I want to do this for my birthday and she is supporting me. Ann Dee is doing it because I agreed to do a 28 day cleanse with her if she'd agree to do the triathlon. The thing is ... even though neither of these girls are training, they will both beat me. Ryan told me that this could be true but they'd be sore the next day and I wouldn't be.

So the cleanse is not very intuitive at all but I give credit to intuitive eating for getting me to the point in my life where I would even consider a cleanse - to try and eat more healthy. Once these 28 days are over, I'll go back to trying to eat intuitively and I seriously think I will be much better at it because now I know a lot more healthy foods to incorporate into my diet. I'm also learning where my hunger and fullness levels are. It is interesting to realize that I can be satisfied without meat or processed sugars. Don't get me wrong - I want a burger like nothing else. Although the cleanse is over three days before the race, I will wait until after to have my burger. I don't want to make myself sick.