So, I signed up for a triathlon... I've lost it, right?

I don't blog very frequently so a lot happens from one post to the next.  In the time since my last post about the Princess Half Marathon, I spent about 3 months sitting on my ass before deciding I needed a new goal.  Because the first full marathon I wanted to do was the WDW Full in January 2014, I thought about what I wanted to do in the meantime.  For some crazy reason, I decided a triathlon was the answer.

September 21, 2013

This was a ridiculous decision in many ways.  First, I don't have a bike and haven't ridden one since I was 10.  Second, I can "swim" in that I don't drown, but I am no one's life guard material.  Running was ok, but I am still sloooooooooooow.  Oh, and I didn't sign up for a Sprint Tri - I signed up for an Olympic Triathlon.  What?  Yes.  That's 1500 meters open water swim in the ocean, 24.5 miles on the bike, and a 10k (6.2 miles) running.  So, now you agree I'm probably crazy, right?

The good news is that it was 16 weeks away and I had some conditioning with the running.  The first thing I did was join the Y.  In addition to the excellent gym, the kids could enjoy the outdoor pool with twisty slide all summer.  I have been plugging away with cycling and running ever since, but I haven't quite started the swimming yet and I've got about 6 weeks left before race day.  In my defense, I did swim for about a week and the kids told me I looked stupid - LOL.  So, I finally called today about getting some private swim lessons and hopefully, I can get on the right path to swim much more frequently in the next 6 weeks.

I am planning on doing some Sprint Tris as soon as I can get a bike - which I am looking to buy in the next week or so.  I'll post race reports and updates as they happen.  In the meantime, I have talked about weight loss on this blog and my struggles so here's some good news on that front.  I am happy to report that in the last year I've lost 40lbs.  The only full body pic I could find was from 2011, but here is what 40lbs looks like on me:

I'd like to lose about 25 lbs more but I've heard differing reports on how training for a half marathon or triathlon helps or hurts weight loss.  I guess time will tell!

As for running, I have 3 other half marathons on the radar for 2013 - The Run Raleigh Half in October, the City Of Oaks, and Wine & Dine at WDW, both in November.  I'll try to blog more often, in case anyone is interested in my triathlon journey.

Oh, yeah... I almost forgot.  Apparently, I am so convinced I am triathlete material that I went ahead and signed up for the Ironman 70.3 Raleigh that will be held next June.  It's like this:  I have to sign up NOW or it will be sold out by the time I convince myself I can do it.  So I'm doing it.  Last June, we did the balloons for the event.  Next June, I will be working my butt off to finish it!