Day 4

So yesterday was supposed to be a work out day, but everyone was a little tired. With Michael and Lori coming in Tuesday afternoon, we were busy bees and stayed up too late. I did find time to walk into town and back (about 2 miles), but that was all. Jackson slept til 2 and Jeff said he was too sore from the swim the day before. He TUBED yesterday! And so did Jackson for that matter, so we all did something active, just not the work outs we were supposed to.



So day 4 you'd think we'd all be raring to go. I can't say we did anything too strenuous. I walked for an hour, but didn't wear my Garmin, so I have no idea what my pace was nor how far I went. I also did another 12 minute swim. I am happy to report that it went MUCH better. I can't imagine it's because I'm in better shape already, more that the wind and currents were in my favor. Jackson kept saying he was going to swim and/or ride the bike, but so far he hasn't. He is tubing though. Jeff says he's way too sore from tubing yesterday to do anything.

I look forward to getting back to Dallas and joining the rec center, so I can start that beginner exercise program I found. It's a combination of walking, swimming, biking, and lifting weights. I hope Jeff will do that with me. I think with football practice, Jackson can focus on the tri program we started with.

Day 2- off

Well, it was an off day for Jeff and I, but Jackson decided to do the 12 minute swim. I will admit he did MUCH better than jeff and I, but he was still tired. He also did a very short bike ride. Tomorrow I will walk and then do a swim. NOT 12 minutes though.

Day 1- bike 24 minutes, swim 12 minutes

The first day on the plan I had printed out was an off day, but Jackson and I wanted to do something to commemorate the beginning of our training, so decided we'd start the day with an easy 2 mile run. I haven't been running since April, but back in April, a 2 mile run was nothing. Oh how quickly the body forgets. We set off, and it was clear that Jackson could run much faster than me, so I waved him on ahead and kept my own steady (11:00-13:00 minute mile) pace. Jackson ran at a faster pace, and stopped to walk more, I kept a slow steady jog and walked less. We finished together in 26:38- SLOW, but we did it.

While we were running, Jeff decided to dust off his bike and go for a 30 minute bike ride. When he returned he said he did not have a problem and felt good. We were all pretty proud of ourselves since we had accomplished something and all felt pretty good.

At lunch, I did a little more research on the web and found another work out that I liked better since it listed the events in minutes rather than in distances. I thought that would be easier for for us to do since we are all beginners. The particular program said on day one of training, swim 12 minutes. That sounds easy, we thought. Let's go ahead and do it.

Naturally we all assumed that we could swim for 12 minutes without a problem. HA! I went first and wisely had Jeff follow me in the kayak. I have a MUCH deeper respect for those swimmers we saw at the Ironman in Couer d'Alene. They swam for two hours! I couldn't do 12 minutes. I didn't quit though, I just switched back and forth from freestyle to breaststroke until the torture was over.

It was a little scary to watch Jeff, who started off really fast and strong (he was on the swim team in high school, by God, no matter it was over 20 years ago) and quickly deteriorated to thrashing in the water, rolling from his front to his back on an odd combination of freestyle and backstroke. Needless to say I think we were both humbled by the experience. Jackson didn't attempt it.

So here I am, morning of day 2 of training, looking at other beginner programs. Sure, I'll still swim in the lake, walk, and maybe even run (though my knee doth protest), but I think it would be safer to follow this other program called The Beginner Exercise program. This seems a little more sane and emphasizes weight loss and conditioning before adding the running, swimming and biking (so my protesting knee will stop complaining). I'll let you know how it goes.