Tri-ing to stay young!

Friday, May 25, 2007
I was out for my first bike ride a few days ago and realized that there is a lot more to this than I remembered as a kid. My 25 km trip involved a painful slip on road gravel with a juicy bruise to show for it, an almost flat tire that needed a helping hand from another biker to fix (Those fancy bike valve stems are more complicated than I remember them.) and being “first road kill of the year” for several other riders. Tonight I am off to my TI swim classes - yep, still learning how to swim! Did I mention that I am signed up for 3 triathlons so far? The first is the Vulcan Tinman, a sprint on June 2, 2007. The next is the Arbour Lake Tri, an olympic distance event on June 17 and finally the Great White North 1/2 Ironman in Stoney Plain on the July long weekend. Depending on my outcome at the Arbour Lake Tri, I want to register for another 2 or 3 events this summer. It won’t be long before I’ll have to get out and do some serious training! My last long run was the Walt Disney Marathon in January. My long run for the W.D.M. was the Victoria Marathon last October. My training regime, or lack of it has taught me how to handle pain and the indignity of being road kill with dignity. I am hoping that these virtues(?) will be what I need to get through these events too!
My long-term goal is the Penticton Ironman August 2008, so I will be there this year helping out and standing in line for registration. Stay tuned; I’ll be back on a regular basis with more news on my training progress.