I tend to be an 'all or nothing' kind of person. For example, I won't want to do a race unless I know I can do it well enough to place respectably. Or I won't want to train hard on a bike all winter knowing that on random weekends, the weather will not be favorable enough for me to ride. I have a difficult time digesting the notion of a 'training race'.

My lack of confidence in swimming has suppressed my desire to participate in a longer distance triathlon such as an Olympic distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run). But I am starting to get my head together to prepare for such a race in July. I don't question my endurance or ability to ride or run that distance. What I fear is taking an hour to finish the swim or freaking out and hyperventilating in the open water. Thus, it's time for me to address my issues with swimming and make an attempt to enjoy the sport.

In the swim clinic this weekend, I learned that my goal for the swim should be to conserve energy for the other parts of the race — not necessarily to save time. My technique wasn't horrible to begin with, but making improvements in my stroke is going to take some time and practice since old habits are hard to break.

Posted by megabeth at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

 
February 18, 2006

I participated in a swim clinic today and it was very informative and helpful. Tomorrow I get back in the pool for more instruction. I knew I wasn't swimming with the right technique and thus felt like it was worthless for me to practice until I learned the right technique.

Plus the bike shop guy I train indoors with is going to look at my cycling shoe footbeds and see if any adjustments can be made to increase my efficiency on the bike. Because I'm all about getting faster without doing any work.

My body fat percentage was measured today at 17.7%, which is low for a female, but probably normal for a female athlete/runner. The absolute minimum for women to allow for proper bodily functioning is 10 to 12% (this is called essential fat). I don't know if I would ever want to drop below 17%; besides, it seems that when my body reaches a certain weight on the low end of my range, I become irrationally hungry and eat everything in sight.

Here is a useful guideline for body fat percentages.

There is one benefit in tri-sports for those with higher body fat: you're more bouyant in the water. And women, since their body fat is typically higher than men, have greater ease with gliding atop the water due to higher buoyancy.

Posted by megabeth at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)