OMG! No more skipping breakfast for me!!! My weight was up a million pounds since the summer started (OK - well 7, which in reality was more like 10 from where I want it to be BEFORE I lose weight).
That was really all I had to say last week. So here is my post from today.
I was really impressed by how many VERY overweight women did the Iron Girl yesterday. I don't know how many of them actually finished it - but I was mostly noticing them before they started the swim and then as they were RETURNING from the bike ride - so I am guessing if they made it that far, the 5k was cake... especially knowing that it takes no particular skill to walk or run a 5k - just stamina. Although, being in the ranks of the VERY overweight of the world, I have got to say that we fatties are in many ways stronger than you skinny minis. I have said it before and I will say it again - strap on a 100 pound fat suit and live like that for 10 years and you will know how I feel. 8-) Seriously though, I was thinking this yesterday... If I somehow figured out a way to rid myself of this burden of weight (I can't exactly say it is all fat, although that was my first word choice - I have a LOT of fat, but you can see the muscle I have in my legs - so there is muscle there too) anyway, if I could lighten up so to speak, I could probably do REALLY WELL in a tri-athelon... if only I could ride a bike... Sigh.
Sarah, I know you will do it again next year - or the year after - or eventually, just because I think that is very much your style - but I think we need to add to your training schedule "Teach Amy to Ride a Bike"
I am going to buy goggles today - and a swim cap - and start to do laps at the pool. My training scheduled is as follows - Day one - one lap. Day two - two laps. Day three - three laps. Day four - four laps. The following week - four laps each day. Week three, day one five laps, day two, six laps, day three, seven laps, day four, eight laps. Week four - eight laps each day. Etc. I will be impressed if I make it through day one. Seriously though... I want to start swimming. I used to like it a lot - although I liked the diving stuff and goofing off in the pool stuff much more.
Vickie, I never learned form. You gave great pointers to Sarah last year when she started swimming again - but from my perspective, is it OK if I just do that sort of underwater breast stroke that people who can't swim do until I build up some stamina - or should I flail around with my really inadequate freestyle so as to not reinforce bad habits?
2 comments:
If you flail around with inadequate freestyle you WILL reinforce bad habits. I read the book Total Immersion and that was very helpful for figuing out proper form (although with no one there to watch, it's hard to say if I got it anything close to right) and there are a lot of online videos for helping learn correct form. The drills in Total Immersion were really helpful for figuring out how to balance my body in the water.
That said, triathlon swimming is very different than normal swimming, since normal swimming is designed more for speed (all but one of the Olympic swimming events, the one they never show, are sprinting) than stamina. With triathlon swimming you hardly kick at all (it's supposed to save your legs for the run and bike, but I found out yesterday it's because you CAN'T kick effectively with so many people around you!) and most triathlon swimmers breath every other stroke instead of every third or fourth stroke. It slows you down but gets more oxygen in you. And if you watched yesterday, you know that a LOT of the women were doing breaststroke the whole way, and some of them even side stroke. I did a combination of freestyle and breaststroke--the same thing I do in the pool.
OH! I can do side stroke! I am good at side stroke!! I think it is helpful for people built like me... I am not sure why, but my body seems to fit in the water better on my side (at least when I am doing water ballet!).
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