Wellington

The 2012 event will be my most challenging yet because I'm due to become a first time Mum in November, and it will also be the first time I've braved the sea swim. Between learning how to juggle exercise and motherhood, trying to regain my fitness after pregnancy, and overcoming nerves about COLD water and swimming anywhere other than a pool it's going to be hard work... but becoming an IT Girl has certainly been the icing on the cake as far as motivation goes!

I really hope that through this fantastic opportunity I can help encourage other new Mums and nervous sea swimmers to take part, and also hope to be inspired by other TriWomen who've been in a similar situation and can share some tips! Looking forward to hearing everyone else's stories and working towards the 2012 event with all the fantastic ladies who make the TriWoman so special!

Time for some countdowns!

-1 week of work to go.

-4 weeks til the baby's due.

-23 weeks til the Wellington TriWoman event.

-(Also 11 weeks til Christmas....! Where has this year gone???) Was pretty happy with how last week's training went, managed 4 swims, and another one today to kick start the week. Hopefully once work's finished with there will be time for a bit more exercise too.

Last week was also a successful one for letting friends and colleagues know about the tri, had one person say it was just the sort of event they had been looking for so was great to be able to give her a TriWoman flyer on the spot!

Hope everyone has a great week and that your training (or planning for

training) is going well. Deciding to do exercise and making time for it is definitely the hardest part!!!!

 Update 7/11/2011

Last week was a good week!  Our little bubba is keeping us constantly entertained (and sleep deprived) and he seems to be a pretty good baby, only time he grizzles is with exasperation when his parents are being clueless!  Obviously in our opinion he is also the cutest baby EVER hahaha.
After a successful buggy walk on Thurs (very much enjoyed having a nosey around a nearby new subdivision) I headed out on Sunday for a run/walk.  It would be fair to say my enthusiasm was not matched by my husband, who seemed to think running this soon was overdoing it.  But I was not to be put off!  With promises that I would be sensible (I suspect he hoped I meant that I would be walking not running, I meant that I was being sunsmart with a hat and sunblock) I was off.  Managed to run the first half but would have to admit that in the second half definitely involved more walking.  It was great to stretch the legs again!  I was slightly disheartened by how long it took to get around the circuit compared to 'the good old days', but it was definitely a good first outing and a good confidence booster.  Have even enjoyed the sore legs today!  And on a far more superficial note it was also very exciting to wear some new running clothes.  Funny what helps motivate you to get out the door!
The plan for this week is to fit in another run/walk, as well as some family-outing walks.  Am hoping that with all the swimming I did in the latter stages of pregnancy my swim fitness will hold up and I can put that on the backburner for a wee while to try and get the run/cycle fitness back up to scratch.
I definitely have a new found admiration for all the other ladies who juggle motherhood with exercise!!!!!
Hope everyone else is enjoying their training and progressing towards their goals!

Update 1/12/2011

Getting back into the running has been going pretty well, and have been managing to get out for a run every second day or so.  Which may be a bit more difficult as of next week when my husband goes back to work so can't watch the bubs while I pop out the door!  For the first few runs my times were dropping every time and even managed to get within 3 mins of the 'pre-baby' time for the circuit I was doing which I was really happy about... but since then it's hovered more around the 7 mins slower mark and doesn't seem to be getting any easier which has been a bit frustrating.  Also the old I.T band has been getting a bit niggly so very mindful of not overdoing it and ending up with an injury that will stop me running for several months.  Had originally set myself a goal of doing a favourite longer run route before Christmas, but starting to wonder how realistic that will be given how knackered I am everytime I finish the shorter and much less hilly run at the moment!!  On a brighter note, the endlessly alternating Northerly and Southerly gales have well and truly enabled me to tick off the 'train in very very very strong winds' box.  Nothing like running on the spot (or backwards) every time a gust comes along... And a gale also means that at SOME stage there will be a very helpful tail wind!
So that's the running training, but what about the cycling and swimming you may ask?  Well........... there hasn't been any of either.
With the cycling, it's mostly because I find biking a bit boring and can generally always think of an excuse not to do it.  At the moment that excuse is mostly 'my bike tyres need pumping up'.  Which we all know takes about a minute to do, but it's proving to be a very good procrastination technique.  Perhaps once I'm home alone with the baby all day might get around to sticking the windtrainer on the deck and actually doing some biking!
As for the swimming, I'm itching to get back in the pool (especially now Khandallah pool's open for the summer and I can practice cold water swimming in a 'safe' environment before transitioning to the sea).  The main reason I haven't been swimming again yet is that none of my swimwear fits!  The preggy togs are too big and the pre-baby togs are too small- in the case of the pre-baby crop top, amusingly too small.  Haven't found the time to traipse around the shops looking for something that's good for running in as well as swimming AND fits my budget, but once I get that sorted (or run enough to fit into the old togs???) will be back in the pool for sure.
On another note, the arrival of summer (both officially and with the lovely sunshine we've had this week) and the new issue of Good Health with the article about 3 of the inspiring IT Girls is getting me very excited to keep working towards the event!
Hope everyone is well,
Sarah.

 Update 25/1/2012
Congrats to all the ladies who took part in Sunday's Point Chev event!  On Sunday arvo I was feeling so motivated by the series being underway that I decided to do some training on what would usually have been a rest day.  I was thinking perhaps a nice run... and then the Southerly rolled in!  Which is why this blog should perhaps be called 'How I nearly became hypothermic while challenging my fears'.
After ruling out the run I decided that this would be the day I kick-started the cold water swimming project.  This was based on the extremely scientific theory that if the air was freezing, cold water wouldn't seem so bad.  So feeling slightly sick with nerves (or was it due to the rather large piece of rocky road slice I'd just scoffed?) I headed off to Khandallah Pool.  For those of you not familiar with Wellington, Khandallah Pool is an unheated outdoor pool.  Nestled in a nice bush spot which gets bugger all in the way of sun.  So good practice for acclimatising to the cold harbour water!
When I got there I honestly thought it was closed; no one was in the pool and the office was all shut up.  Turns out the lifeguards were just huddling in a corner of the office trying to keep warm.  With a rather incredulous look they relieved me of my $2, and promptly closed the window again, commenting on how cold it was outside.  Now to begin with I'd though phew, no one else in the pool to laugh at me if I ended up being too soft to even make it into the water.  But then I realised that actually it would be WAY more embarrassing having to walk back out past the lifeguards who would definitely notice that I hadn't swam at all!
Steeled by my determination not to look like a complete dork, I approached the ladder.  At this stage the plan was to swim 40 lengths.  I got my legs into the water... this doesn't seem soooooooooo cold... put my shoulders under........ okay this is quite cold...... shoved my head under and pushed off.  And immediately panicked from the cold and came up gasping for breath and madly splashing around like a caged octopus on speed.  (Do caged octopuses splash? If anyone knows the answer to this question please let me know!)  Determined to do at least one length I switched to a funky breaststroke/doggy paddle hybrid and moved slowly towards the other end of the pool, giving myself a stern talking to about NEEDING to get my head back under and swim properly.  Having decided that I had to do at least 12 lengths (the 300m of the event) I put my head back under... and didn't panic so much!  Yay!!!!  Things improved even more when I discovered that by taking more frequent breaths than I was used to, the whole breathless-cold thing was more manageable.
After about 5 lengths I was almost enjoying myself, and hatched an ambitious plan to swim 80 lengths.  But by 25 lengths the term 'bone-chilling cold' had taken on great personal significance and by 30-something lengths I was starting to feel warm again....... which I'm pretty sure I once learnt in a First Aid class was Not A Good Thing.  So I stopped at 40 lengths, figuring that pushing on and having to be dragged out of the pool would not exactly be the confidence building experience I had hoped for.
As I clambered, shivering uncontrollably, out of the pool, I felt as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  Ever since I found out there was no pool swim for this year's Wellington Tri the idea of the sea swim has filled me with nerves, and I've been meaning to do some cold water training to prepare for it.  The longer I'd procrastinated, the more of a mental obstacle it became.  By doing this swim I now know that I CAN survive 300m in the sea, and hopefully make a decent effort at swimming it 'properly', even if the result isn't pretty to watch!  I'm now a wee bit excited, and not just nervous, to do some more practice in the cold pool, AND (gulp!) in the sea sometime soon.  The idea of having no lane ropes/markings and not being able to see the bottom (for some reason a real 'thing' of mine) still scares me a bit but at least I have begun conquering my fear of the cold!
If anyone reading this is a confident sea swimmer, and is currently laughing and/or shaking their heads with disbelief at just how soft I am, please share any sea swimming tips you have, they will be greatly appreciated!!
And any other Wellington ladies who are also putting off getting into the sea to practice, perhaps we can organise a group training day so that we stop procrastinating and do it!