Triathlon
So, my new Brilliant Idea of the Week is to do a triathlon. During my last wikipedia bender I ended up reading up on triathlons and discovered there are different distances. Distances I could conceivably do! Then I started looking at races and found there are quite a few nearby, but one that takes place in Banff really caught my attention.
Swim: 500m
Bike: 25km
Run: 5km
No cut-off times
The race is in September, and I could conceivably be in shape to do it by then. Especially because I can do a 25km bike ride after work without a second thought.
Excuse #1
I have not done any serious running or swimming in at least two years, and I’ve never done any of this stuff in combination. I want to take swimming lessons to improve my technique, but my local pool doesn’t have anything appropriate until after the race is over. Considering the swim is in a lake in the mountains, I want to be quite strong at swimming. I’m not even sure how to train for a cold, outdoor swim when I only have easy access to indoor pools. I can go go laps at the wave pool when the waves are on, but it’s still warm water.
I don’t think running would be that hard to train, I would just have to find the time, and probably new shoes.
Excuse #2
Cost. It costs $100 just to register for the race, plus a tank of gas to drive to Banff and back. I’d need to spend the night on Friday, due to mandatory meetings and such the day before the race (Saturday). I don’t want to camp the night before my first ever triathlon, which means hotel, which means at least another $100. The temptation to make a weekend of it, and stay on Saturday night too is pretty strong. Having to be there on Friday also means taking an (unpaid) day off work. Fridays are hard to get off, because my job is covering for other people while they’re on vacation, and lots of people like to take Fridays off. I would also need to buy new equipment, namely a wetsuit, and probably running shoes.
Excuse #3
Austin may not be in shape in time. He has just started running, but is not very good at it. He’s put on some weight lately, which doesn’t help. He hasn’t swam in a while, though he used to be really into it so I suspect he would be okay. I don’t want to do this event alone, so he would have to be on board for me to go. If we wait until next year we'll both have a lot of time to train. I might even be up for doing the olympic distance, rather than sprint
.
Despite all this, I would still really like to go. I’m not big on endurance type sports, but this is a short event and I think I could get through it without hating it at the end. Having a goal to train towards (besides an arbitrary number of kilometers) is also fun. It’s something Austin and I could do together. Of course, bragging about it afterwards is also fun. If I tell people not in the know that I did a Sprint Triathlon, it just sounds like I did a Triathlon really fast, rather than a shorter one.
Not to mention Austin and I have been sort of planning several mini-vacations this year (haven’t gone on any) and spending a weekend in Banff would be a lovely mini-vacation.
I have to make up my mind soon, because if I do this I need to start training ASAP.
Swim: 500m
Bike: 25km
Run: 5km
No cut-off times
The race is in September, and I could conceivably be in shape to do it by then. Especially because I can do a 25km bike ride after work without a second thought.
Excuse #1
I have not done any serious running or swimming in at least two years, and I’ve never done any of this stuff in combination. I want to take swimming lessons to improve my technique, but my local pool doesn’t have anything appropriate until after the race is over. Considering the swim is in a lake in the mountains, I want to be quite strong at swimming. I’m not even sure how to train for a cold, outdoor swim when I only have easy access to indoor pools. I can go go laps at the wave pool when the waves are on, but it’s still warm water.
I don’t think running would be that hard to train, I would just have to find the time, and probably new shoes.
Excuse #2
Cost. It costs $100 just to register for the race, plus a tank of gas to drive to Banff and back. I’d need to spend the night on Friday, due to mandatory meetings and such the day before the race (Saturday). I don’t want to camp the night before my first ever triathlon, which means hotel, which means at least another $100. The temptation to make a weekend of it, and stay on Saturday night too is pretty strong. Having to be there on Friday also means taking an (unpaid) day off work. Fridays are hard to get off, because my job is covering for other people while they’re on vacation, and lots of people like to take Fridays off. I would also need to buy new equipment, namely a wetsuit, and probably running shoes.
Excuse #3
Austin may not be in shape in time. He has just started running, but is not very good at it. He’s put on some weight lately, which doesn’t help. He hasn’t swam in a while, though he used to be really into it so I suspect he would be okay. I don’t want to do this event alone, so he would have to be on board for me to go. If we wait until next year we'll both have a lot of time to train. I might even be up for doing the olympic distance, rather than sprint
.
Despite all this, I would still really like to go. I’m not big on endurance type sports, but this is a short event and I think I could get through it without hating it at the end. Having a goal to train towards (besides an arbitrary number of kilometers) is also fun. It’s something Austin and I could do together. Of course, bragging about it afterwards is also fun. If I tell people not in the know that I did a Sprint Triathlon, it just sounds like I did a Triathlon really fast, rather than a shorter one.
Not to mention Austin and I have been sort of planning several mini-vacations this year (haven’t gone on any) and spending a weekend in Banff would be a lovely mini-vacation.
I have to make up my mind soon, because if I do this I need to start training ASAP.