My first triathlon – not loving it

I love running. Just in case I haven’t already mentioned it. I think cycling is pretty great too. It definitely beats getting the tube or bus as a mode of transport. I’ve recently learnt to love swimming too, just not quite as much as I love running. But when I do all three of these things in quick succession, the outcome just isn’t as fun.

When I did my first triathlon back in May, the swim went terribly. It was the first time I’d cycled a bike in a competitive situation and this was new and uncomfortable for me.  I was used to pottering along, stopping at traffic lights every so often and moving around traffic at a slow pace. Frantically pedalling against the clock was very different.

I knew that running was my friend though and being quite at home in a race situation on two feet, I looked forward to the 5k run at the end. But when I got off the bike and started running it was harder than I’d expected. This wasn’t the fun sort of running I was used to.

In June I took on triathlon number two – a race twice as long as the first. This time the swim went a bit better and the bike leg wasn’t a completely new experience. The run was hard like the first time and I got frustrated that I couldn’t go faster or easier. That it wasn’t fun. I finished feeling relieved that it was over and satisfied that I’d done it. But not loving it.

I promised myself on the bike leg of that second triathlon ‘finish this you only have to do three more triathlons’. Because I’d made a promise to Chrissie Wellington that I’d take on an ironman one day and I’d figured that I’d need to do a couple of half-iron distance triathlons before taking on the full distance.

Next month I’ll do the first of those half-iron distance triathlons at Hever Castle. I went for a run this week straight after cycling home. A ‘brick’ training session triathletes would call it. The run was hard, even though I’d only cycled five miles. My legs felt stiff and unco-operative. I looked at the calendar when I got back and counted how long I have to go until that 70.3 mile triathlon. Just five weeks.

When I first started out on this challenge, the swimming part was the bit I was least looking forward to. I’m a new swimmer and open water caused me to panic. The past couple of weeks I’ve spent Sunday mornings swimming in the Stoke Newington reservoir, enjoying doing laps totalling 1,500m. Now I’m quite looking forward to the swim leg of my 70.3, it’s the running bit that is causing me all sorts of concern.