Friday, June 03, 2011

Back in Tri Mode.....as part of Team SirCha! :)

(Picture courtesy Sirsha)

Hello! I am back....after a long long time! I don't even know if anyone checks this blog anymore, but I am still excited to be back! :)

So since August 2010, when I did my last Tri - I had gone for just one ride with Vish, and during that ride, I ended up with a flat barely 3 miles into the ride, after which I gave up. Since then, Scarlett II, my precious bike, has just been sitting "vettily" in my bedroom not doing much. Even in the 2010 Tri season, although I did a Triathlon, it almost felt like I did it for the sake of doing it, and my heart wasn't really in it, and the results definitely reflected that as well.

Earlier this year, my super enthu husband Vishwas signed us up for a 70.3 Half-Ironman Triathlon - Redman Triathlon OKC - Vish is an excellent biker and runner, but swimming is still pretty alien to him. Although he has done one Triathlon in the past, his passion lies with Duathlons. Ever since our superman friend Amit Bhai did his first ever Ironman race, he's been itching to be part of an "Iron" race....so that's how I got roped into doing the swim portion of the 70.3 for him, while he raced the bike and run portions. I was okay with this - I enjoy swimming and being able to just swim without the stress of biking and running after was something I was even pretty excited about. I had planned to start training in the mid-June timeframe, once I got done with some of the other commitments I had. Meanwhile, Vish has been training properly  in San Antonio, withTri-Sition Area, in preparation for an upcoming duathlon, so I am constantly fed with stories about training.

A few weeks ago, a dear friend and Team Asha running mate Sirsha, signed up for her first ever Triathlon. She will be racing Danskin this weekend - an awesome all-women Triathlon. She also borrowed my bike Scarlett I for her training program. Her enthusiasm – especially outlined in all her blog posts (which I highly recommend reading for new runners/triathletes) – throughout this training program had been slowly rubbing off on me, even though I did not really realize it. Early last week, she sent out a SOS note to the informal training/support group we have Tri-Oomph, expressing concerns about open-water swimming during the Triathlon. Almost instinctively, I replied to her email and asked if she would like me to sign up and do the race with her, especially the swim portion. I did not really expect her to reply and say yes, but when she did, I knew I had to keep my promise and promptly signed up – 10 days before the race! I have to thank (or blame :p) Vish for pushing me to do this!

I have done a couple of Triathlons in the past without any structured training, but had typically always been in good shape, and had also been swimming, biking and running somewhat regularly. The last 6 months though, I have been living a very sedentary lifestyle, with almost zero exercise and physical activity and poor eating, due to multiple reasons. The only good thing I have done in the last few weeks is lost ~6lbs as part of a weight-loss program I had signed up with at my gym. This was mainly via restructuring my diet and eating habits, and not really through a rigorous exercise program. Given this, this weekend’s race is definitely going to be an interesting test for me in gauging my physical fitness! But regardless, I am excited! Excited to finally be getting off my ass and back in training mode, and excited to accompany a friend as she loses her Tri virginity. :p I am also pumped to train through the Summer for 3 different events I have signed up for in the Fall timeframe (Austin Tri – Oly distance, Redman Relay and Philly Marathon) and most off all, I am just so darn glad to be back on track towards become more healthy, fit and toned after being a slob for so many months!


Thanks much to Vishy and Sirsha for inspiring me to do this!


And……Go Team SirCha….I can’t wait for this weekend!!


-C