Monday, February 11, 2013

Day 15 - Mon Feb 11 - First Swim Lesson

Today I had my first swim lesson in 45 years. I figure my last one was in the Sondhiem's pool in Magnolia on 44th Ave in Seattle WA probably when I was 16 years old. I took it with Jane Graybill, who also is preparing for the triathlon. She had a lesson before me and had already learned a lot. I had to start at ground zero. Here is what Lauren had me do:

Swimming
1) Swim with a board and fins breathing out through my nostrils and in through my mouth.  I don't think I have ever breathed out through my nostrils that I remember.
2) Swim with a board on my side doing the same. I found out I have a weak left side.
3) Do the crawl stroke with fins breathing properly. I was thrusting my head way too far out of the water.
4) Do the crawl stroke without fins breathing properly. The real thing.
5) Switch from the crawl to backstroke.

That was it. I learned much in that short 1/2 hour lesson.  I talked to Lauren about her triathlon experiences. It is so valuable to do so. Because it is all so new I have so many questions that I have not considered before such as my question today - At what cadence do you attempt to ride a bike in a triathlon if you are a novice?  The answer was over 90 but less than 100.

Biking
So I went to spin a bike for 30 laps against Greg LaMond again. I did 9 miles in 26.31 minutes at a level 5 with an average heart rate of 133 and an average speed of 20.2. My cadence was generally between 90 and 100. I found that my upper left inside thigh hurt again between the 6-9 minute mark and then went away.  I also noticed that the back of my thighs had been exercising when I got off.

Running
I immediately ran up the stairs and then ran for 10 minutes around the track. I feel that the muscle I pulled falling while skiing at Schweitzer two weeks ago is finally starting to mend and I can begin to run again.

KROC Center Mini Tri
Swimming, biking, running make up a triathlon. My first KROC center mini tri was today.

I also saw Susan, Conner, Kip, and Gloria that all work at the KROC center. They are all so supportive of my first attempts.

No comments:

Post a Comment