Triathalon....

I'm tentatively letting a friend talk me into a triathalon in May. (Yes, laughter is appropriate at this point. Please, don't try to hold it in!) Here's the thing, though: I'm not a swimmer...or a biker...or a runner. (Remember, I'm a jogger--a very slow jogger!)

So, here's what it includes: swim 13 lengths of the pool, bike 11 miles, and run a 5K. I've been running 3 miles a day this week (see Dec. jog log), but today I decided I needed to see where I'm at in the swimming department. I think I swam a total of 18 lengths--and I think I did 13 lengths in about 15 or 20 minutes. This is probably a laughable time, but I was resting in between each length, so I wasn't really trying for a great time. Here's my problem (well, one of them, at least): I can't swim with my face in the water. I don't know how to breathe doing it--I can't exhale and inhale without sputtering and coming to a dead stop in the water. So, I do a lot of backstroking, and a fair amount of some weird side crawl. This is definitely going to be a challenge for me. I'll need to hit my friend up for some pointers, as she is practically a fish.

I haven't attempted the biking yet. Maybe I need to hit those spinning classes which have always put a fair amount of fright into me. But I really need to find some brave soul who wouldn't mind coming with me so I don't make a fool out of myself all alone in front of all the hard-core spinners.

We'll see what comes of this. I guess at the very least I'll be improving my health, providing I don't drown, of course.