Fresh Start by digby8

I've entered a triathalon.  An olympic distance one as I am not a sprinter so anything that takes less than 90 mins is not really for me.  The catch is I don't think I have been in a pool for over a year and consider myself a slow cyclist at best.

So I find myself a regular swimming training event and commit to go to it yesterday but I get my planning really really badly wrong.  My wife has the car and it's about 9 miles away and to put icing on the cake my running partner is going through a bad patch and I'm trying to keep her motivated .... and yes, I'm due to run with her as well......  aaaargh.   Oh well, guess I was going to have to try all three sports sooner rather than later!

I know my fitness is relatively ok so first thing in the morning I was feeling relatively confident of surviving the cycle and run but had fears over the swim.  I get on the bike and decide to give it some welly and make it there in just under 15mph average.  15 minute break while the pool opens and in I go, being the noobie I am lost and luckily an uber-fit man takes me under his wing and guides me through the drills.  I look at the card in dismay, if I complete all the drills I could easily be doing 2.5 - 3.5 k in the pool - after over a year of no swimming..... - But I'm here and here goes.

I am quickly taught that I can't swim, or rather that my technique is pants.  But uber fit man (must get his name next week) is kind, patient and observant and after each drill gives me pointers which I try to take in but there is so much.  Basically the session is 100m warm up, 600m technique drills then 4x 400m sprints with a recovery 100m included in the middle with a cool down of about 200m.  Ow.  I pulled out of a 5th sprint as I cramped badly getting out of the pool for water.  So with a little banter in the changing rooms I get to the bike asap.

The 2nd bike ride was different, no energy, no power.  first 4 miles average 12mph but somewhere on the road something changes, last 4 miles averaging 17mph.  Then I get home with 10mins to spare to find my running bud has cancelled and I spend the next 10 mins deciding what to do.  I am stubborn so on with the shoes.  I get to the first mile and find no legs and lots of pain so decide that I will walk mid run for the first time in probably 18 months.  I make this the training session - 1mile, 60 paces walk x 3 and a final half mile for good behaviour - all in good times, each running section faster than the previous.

So by accident my first real training session is 2200m swim, 18 miles bike and 3,5 mile run.  8 weeks to go!