Therapy Xperts Blog

Triathlon Blog

The triathlon season is upon us and the fastest growing sport in Ireland is alive once more for the summer.

I am desperately trying to get back into it. I did the Chicago triathlon for Our Lady’ s Hospital in Crumlin in 2006 and between study and laziness I haven’t managed to stir up enough time or motivation to manage it..until now. I have rather nervously entered the sprint triathlon in Athlone, my home town, which I did previously in it’s inaugural year in preparation for the Chicago tri. In order to motivate me for this I have also entered the aquathon series in Bray which involves just swimming and running (thank God- I dread cycling). I find entering something gives me the get up and go required.

I think a lot of us have been here at one stage or another- trying to regain fitness and rebuild the habit can be both terrifying and tiring. The first few sessions are always the most difficult. From trial and error I have realized that too much too soon is my biggest fault. Recovery is very difficult if your first few sessions are too tough on the body. The body aches for days, you feel dehydrated and you try to avoid the next session for as long as possible. So this time I’m starting slow….

Unfortunately a little too slow at present- I did a 500m swim last Thursday and on Sunday I braved the sea. I managed to battle through 500m down at Seapoint- lovely day but icey cold for the first few strokes. I couldn’t feel my face for the first five minutes but once I warmed up I managed a rhythm for a while. I get a little on edge at times in the sea for some reason, despite being a confident swimmer. I find the best way to avoid this is to swim with someone and obviously stay close to the coastline.

This morning I brought my running gear to work in order to encourage the motivation! If it’s looking at me I might be more inclined.

I will keep ye posted!

Elaine Barry
MISCP MSc BSc

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Comments Posted 13/05/2009

Best of luck Elaine and I hope the ice-cream headaches get a little easier. Lorraine

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