Triathlon on the Brain

I'm having a hard time deciding what I want to do as far as races/working out this summer. I really can't decide what to do. Originally my plan was to run the Trolley Run 4 miles, Hospital Hill 10K and then the KC Marathon Half.

Well... I don't know that I like running THAT much. I honestly only run because it's the only way I can keep my weight down. I also really love how I feel after I run and the 'race day' experience. But, I generally hate every second that I'm actually 'running'. I know. It's weird.

Well, recently doing a triathlon has popped into my mind. I have no idea where it came from, but I'm guessing boredom. The thought of simply running all spring and summer seems a bit monotonous. Adding in some swimming and biking would spice things up! Plus, as a kid/teen I loved to swim and bike, so it make sense I suppose.

Problems:

Swimming: I haven't swam (swum?) athletically since...ohhhh... ummm.... I don't even remember. High school perhaps? Maybe? I also do not own an proper swimsuit for a triathlon or training for a triathlon. I can go get one though, so that's not a huge deal. (It's putting it on that is the bigger issue....) I also have a lap pool at the gym, so training wouldn't be a problem either. What would be a problem is the actual swim during the race. I don't do lakes. Period. When I mentioned this to Zach the first thing he reminded me was that I would have to swim. In. A. Lake. EWWWWW! I almost gave up the thought right there. But, I figure with all those people flailing around the snakes and fish will likely stay away....right??? Then there's the swimming with the people thing. I'm not exactly a fan of getting kicked in the face. I'm even less a fan of being kicked in my 'bad leg' (I have some issues with my right shin, there's a bump...it hurts, yada yada.. it's a story for another day). I'm not sure what would happen if I were to get nailed in the middle of the race.... So yeah, I'm nervous about the swim.

Biking: Um, well, I don't have a bike. I've done a tiny bit of research and bikes are really, really expensive. I also really have no desire to buy a racing bike (I don't even know what they are technically called...) I asked a friend that did a sprint triathlon last summer and she said a lot of people had mountian bikes, so I thought about getting one of those. I can't really forsee myself doing anything more than a 'sprint' triathlon, so I really can't justify buying a fancy bike. I'd get much more mileage (heh!) out of a mountian bike. I don't want to look stupid though. They are pretty heavy, I'm not sure how much that would impact the 11.75 mile ride... I'm also not sure about the distance. At first it didn't sound so far. Then I google mapped the distance from my house to my parents house and that's only 9 miles and it seems REALLY far away.

Running: I'm not too worried about this part. It's only 3 miles. The only part that worries me about the run is that it's the last thing. I'm not sure how tired I'm going to be.

Despite all of this, I've started lightly training. I'm still working on the running because I fully plan to do all the races I listed, but I'm adding in some biking. I really enjoy that part (albeit on the bike at the gym). It's just the swimming that I have left. I just can't bring myself to get in that pool yet. Which brings me to why I think I want to do this thing...

Weight. I got married and gained some lbs. Everyone told me that once you get married, you gain weight. I tried not to believe them, but it happend. Right after my wedding I actually lost some weight, but then we moved out to the boonies, got a dog and life quickly got in the way of my 2 hour gym marathons. I just feel like if I have something "big" to train for, I'll be more focused and finally shed those 10 pounds that haunt me. I need to do it for me. I need to prove it to myself.

I think I'm gonna do it.