Yesterday in the mist of a 40 degree afternoon I set out at White Rock to ride my bike for my longest distance yet. It was cold and I doubted I wanted to do it for starters because all I had was biker shorts and not long pants. But after a few minutes of talking back and forth I decided that real men wear shorts as they rode their bikes. Short of finding that real man I decided I could do it as well. So I set out and went around 15 miles around White Rock and other parts of the area. I used some of the routes that I took while training for my marathon with Luke's Locker. And from those areas managed to not get lost and find my way back to the path that would ultimately get me back to my car. Let me say that for a person who is out for only his second time and a week between those rides as well that 15 miles felt like 50. My legs were killing me near the end of the ride and today my legs paid me back at work as I was finding it hard to get started every time I left my chair. But what I also learned yesterday was that I am still a little ways off before I can just take off like a baby bird jumping out of a nest hoping their wings will keep them from hitting the ground. While I did manage NOT to crash I also came close a couple of times. I am still not able to just stop real fast and to remember to twist my ankle to get my foot released from the peddles. I am still needing to learn how to react better and faster in situations that will come up quickly on me and without notice in order for me to start getting rid of that nervousness and start the conquering part of this bike thing.
And tonight I swam for a hour and while I still look like a fish out of water I am finally seeing some improvements in this area of my game. While it may not be Pamela Anderson running down the beach sexy I am seeing myself getting a little bit further without the snorkel and getting air as I swim. Still depending too much on the snorkel and still finding myself forgetting to breath while swimming. Strange once you remove the snorkel the thought of breathing completely leaves my mind. I am just holding my breathe it seems until I realize wait didn't I miss a step here. Oh yes breathing. Who knew. Tonight I swam overall 300 meters with the last 100 meters not using the snorkel. So that last 100 meters would have made great comedy on YouTube. I would definitely make the viral status if it ever was posted. Still at least I am seeing improvement and hopefully can see even more after tomorrow.
I know that with the day getting longer little by little, with my weekends being free for me to add to my training time and with me getting some evening time at LA Fitness that I will soon be able to at least make a decent appearance at my first sprint tri-event in mid-March. I also know that you cannot do a St. Patrick Day event without drinking a little adult liquid beverages. I just hope that once I cross the finish line that the only thing that would be finish would just be the race and not me too.
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