One Month Out to Sprint Triathlon
In less than a month, I will be doing my first sprint triathlon on the Toronto Island. It’s a short race compared to the Olympic distance and Ironmans, but it’ll be my biggest endurance challenge yet.
I did the Give it a Tri event last year at the same place. It was a good time and it was fun enough for me to try again this year at double the distance. As I have recently heard, the sport of triathlon is becoming a more and more popular sport in recent years.
I am holding out on digging myself deeper into this sport and hobby. It’s really 3 sports disguised as one. You can easily drop thousands into gear, training and event registration. I haven’t made up my mind on how far I want to go after this event. Will I go back to lifting weights? Or maybe just stick to running? Currently, I am working with what I have without all the fancy equipment like road bikes, clip on shoes, wetsuit and sports supplements.
Although, I have increased my level of preparation this year... I have been loosely part of two run clubs at Downsview Parkrun and Hillcrest Lululemon run grou. I run around two times a wee, ranging from 5km to 10km each session. I have taken masters swim class in a local pool and also joined a cycling group. Needless to say, I am motivated to tri my best in this sprint, because I really want to give it my all and see what I am capable of, and how far I can get in this endurance sport. If I can ever climb up to do an Olympic distance triathlon, I think I will have no regrets in this sport (I will probably change my mind if I ever do that distance and move the goal post ¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ ).
I went for my first open water swim yesterday of the season. I did about 1.5km of open water swimming, after not swimming outdoors in a close to a year. I didn't feel panicked even though I couldn't see much when I was swimming. This is about 2x my sprint swim portion. I hope my training and fitness will carry me through the race. Come to think, I used to worry about the 400m swim in my lifeguard test. I bet the younger me would be proud to see me today.
my watch died half way rip
I suppose I am not worried about any of these portions individually, but the combination of them is what I am actually worried about. I am sure it’ll go fine, but you never know about these things. Weather could be an issue, bike problems could happen or I might be not feeling my best. I suppose you just have to roll with punches in an event like this, and take problems on one at a time - kinda like life. If it’s not a challenge, then why bother! Right?
This year, I hope to stick around the island after the race and enjoy the surrounding. Maybe even meet some new people doing the race. There were a couple of competitors that were running neck to neck with me last year. I wonder if I will see them this year.