With a week left until my first sprint triathlon I look back on what I have learned over the past two months:
1. A 'brick' is not something you build a wall with, nor what you may see in the toilet after a day full of cheese and no fiber. A 'brick' is a workout that combines two of the triathlon sports. In my case, usually a bike ride and a run. It is spectacularly brutal in the midst of summer.
2. Working out like a dog four or five days a week will not make you skinny. It hasn't even lost me much in the way of inches but I could crush a walnut with my thigh muscles and run 3 miles after a 10 mile bike ride.
3. With number two in mind, triathletes are not always chiseled, young, and athletic. I recently watched a local triathlon and while there were definitely fine looking people there, half of the top twenty looked like your average person that goes to the gym a couple days a week.
4. I have the mental toughness of a can of dog food. My mind is definitely stronger than my body and keeps telling my muscles that 'you cannot do it'. I have to listen to music while I am running just to drown it out (that and the huffing and puffing).
5. Swimmers do not belong on land. Swimming for me feels strong and graceful even when I am gasping for air. Running makes me look and feel like a person that is going to throw up on the side of the road for lack of oxygen.
6. Carbs are my new best friend....again. I found myself feeling quite ill sometimes after my workouts and figured out that a granola bar and a gatorade before my brick workouts made me feel so much better (rather than the cheese stick I was having).
7. Peoples reactions when they find out I am doing a triathlon are interesting. They either seem to think I am crazy or are disappointed to find out that this is not the Ironman I am entering.
