Training Camp

On Friday the 13th I did my first triathlon! Well, more like a mock-athlon. The idea was to test my limits before the Ironman 70.3 in Marbella, my first real triathlon event.

Under the excellent supervision of coach Karen Parnell (Ironman U, Twitter) I swam 2000m in the pool, followed by a bike/run “brick workout”:

A brick workout refers to the stacking of two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal to no interruption in between. As you switch modes of exercise, your body needs to effectively and efficiently prepare for the next demand while recovering from the previous exercise demand. [#]

In practice that meant I was on my stationary bike (installed in an intelligent turbo trainer) for an hour, then jumped off the bike, switched to running shoes and then ran 2km on the treadmill, then back on the bike.

This went on for a total of 3.5 hours, totaling 65km on the bike and a 6K run. It was brutal. And I loved it!

It was only afterwards that I learned I had covered more total distance than an Olympic triathlon: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run.

After this training camp I feel much better prepared for my first Ironman 70.3 (thanks, Karen!).

When I first signed up back in September, it seemed impossible: I found out about the event with only 6 months to go — and I still couldn’t swim! The only upside was that April 29 felt like it was far, far into the future.

Not anymore. It’s about to get real.