Joined the club....

So, the more I look into the whole tri thing and talk to people that are doing it, I have more and more questions!  I know that many of these will probably be alleviated once I finally just do one, but in the mean time, I keep wondering about open water swims, transitioning, fueling, etc.  I have one friend that does tris, just completed her first Ironman, and she is part of a coaching facility where she pays for coaching, and all of that.  Though the support of that would be great, I don't have the budget for that! I'm still recovering from the bike purchase :)

Anyhow, after more searching online I found several local tri clubs.  I got more curious, looked into several of them, and they do some pretty fun stuff! I joined the one above, Northern Utah Triathletes.  For a small annual fee, you are in!  They offer tons of group workouts, open water swim clinics, socials, mock races, all kinds of stuff and I am so excited about it!  I can't wait to meet others, learn from their experiences, and hopefully improve my performance through it all.  It will be way fun, I have talked with the founder and coach, and she is going to be awesome!

So, I guess this means I am OFFICIALLY in the club, right?

My own Three Things Thursday

I love any good running inspiration I can find, and I find I even say many of these things to myself when I need to get my butt out of bed in the morning, or trying to talk myself into not cutting my run short for whatever pansy reason it might be.  I found these week and thought I would share!

I LOVE SPRING!

I must say, I am in heaven with the warmer temps we have been having!  It allows for more enjoyable training with less layers, and more day light.  I have loved it!  Being a teacher, I have next week off for Spring Break and am really looking forward to getting more training in, and some good day time training as well!  I am hoping the head lamp can find it's way back to the drawer and I can enjoy the daylight!

In other news, I am debating another race.  I have to decide in the next few days if I want to do the St. George Marathon this year.  I told myself when I finished it last year that I would make myself do it every year.  And to date, it is my favorite race of all of them that I have done.  But, in all honesty, I have no desire to do a marathon this year.  If I don't do St George, I won't do one at all.  But then again, St. George makes it worth the training and the 26.2!  I would also need to figure out how to incorporate the marathon training into my Olympic distance tri training, but I am sure it could be done.

I am getting more used to my bike. I love it, but I need to get my body more comfortable on it.  I plan on upgrading the seat, which whill be crucial for the longer rides I plan on doing, and I will also like it when that muscle between my shoulders gets used to sitting that way, and will hurt less after 45 minutes on the bike :)

I had my first flat tire last week.  Of course, I didn't have my repair kit on me.  Dummy.  But I wouldn't have known what to do with it anyhow.  I called Ken on my cell phone and had him come to the rescue then took it into the bike shop and had them show me how to change it. 

And, as extra bonus, my avid cyclist father has ordered a bunch of gear for me and I have been getting boxes in the mail for the past week.  I got a cool new jersey, and it says "Biker Chick" on it.  Yeah, the simple pleasures...

Random training ramblings....

As I am currently working on my teaching certificate in Special Education, I am learning all about behaviors and behavior modification.  It is all pretty simple, really.  The premise is that all behavior is a form of communication, usually to get something or get out of something.  And to change a behavior or increase a good one a good reinforcer needs to be in place.  I have been thinking about this a lot lately as I look at the behaviors of those around me, my kids, my students, and myself!

You see, I am having a problem with sticking to work outs lately.  I am SOOO lacking motivation. The darkness and cold of winter is killing me.  I don't know why, I always feel wonderful after I do them.  I never regret working out.  I love the races that I train for and want to improve, but usually lately I have succumbed to excuses like " it is too dark out" or "I don't feel good", or "I am too tired".  That may all very well be the case, but I need to GET OVER IT!

So, I am trying to come up with a good reward system for sticking to my work outs.  I have mapped out all of my training and work outs through my first race of the season, the Salt Lake City Half Marathon.  It is 6 weeks away.  I want to reward myself with something major if I stick to all of them between now and then.  Seeing as how this is an average of at least 7 work outs a week, it needs to be something BIG, but I don't know what?  I am thinking a pair of shoes?  New running/cycling gear? Hmmmmmmmm

In other news, I did have my longest bike ride to date yet.  I did 27 miles.  It was humbling.  I really need to get a new seat, because my butt was so sore when I got home.  I am sure that is TMI, but it's the truth.  It dawned on me that is the bike portion of the Olympic distance triathlon I am doing in August.  The thought of doing that ride followed by a 10K and preceded by a 1500m swim is very humbling at the moment.  I am so glad I have the summer to train well for it!

The St George Marathon registration lottery opens April 2.  I am currently debating whether or not I want to do it.  Well, the thing is, I don't want to do 26.2 this year, but I do want to do the St George Marathon, if that makes any sense.   The thought of marathon training is daunting right now, but to this day, my favorite race ever is St George, so it would be worth the effort.  So, I guess I have three weeks to mull it over.  It would be a great way to end the season though!  I will keep y'all posted on what I decide to do.  But one thing is for sure, if I don't get in, there won't be any other marathons on the calender this year...