I survived my first attempt at running, biking and swimming in a row. The bike was rough because it was hilly, apparently my seat is way too low (Coach Pam told me last practice and I forgot to fix it!) and my gears strongly dislike being changed. So, ended up turning around a little early on the bike portion. Those who want to give biking a try may consider a Schwinn Stingray chopper as your first bicycle.
We did the full 200m swim.. The pool I’ve been swimming in is a 25m pool and the length will be 50m on Saturday. That worries me because when I get to the side I’m huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf!
I’m definitely not prepared to complete this race fast. And I’m very scared about riding my bike around others who are going fast AND I’m scared of choking in the pool because I’ll be tired at that point. But, this is a learning experience. I’m doing this tri because it’s an entry level race and I just need to get out there and see where my starting level stands as of now.
I got home at 8pm and luckily dinner was already on the table. I had called Ben and asked him to get Thai food. I was still wrapping up practice so I didn’t even tell him what to order for me.
Somehow over the years he’s picked on on the fact that I am a super btch extremely high maintenance when it comes to food and he ordered exactly what I would have – tofu with veggies. Unfortunately this Thai place doesn’t have brown rice, the one teeny drawback.
A Vitatop and some greek frozen yogurt came tumbling after 
Thursday Morn’ This morning I ran 7.75 mile (aiming for 8). I wanted to keep an 8:45 pace but I have a really hard time with that since from my house it’s a gradual incline out and downhill back. I end up doing 9 minute miles out and 8:30s back – which I DO NOT think is the same thing.
Breakfast – 2 egg whites, 1 egg and a bagel. 
And now I’m finishing up my favorite food while going through emails. I <3 watermelon forever.
PS – I did this to mess with Ben and he got way too happy about it. 
PPS – When I get pregnant I won’t be one of those girls that just gets a belly, so this pic is not indication of what a preggo Monican looks like.
While on my run this morning I was looking at houses and thinking about where we’ll live next. The thing is, I don’t feel like I have a 5 year plan so it’s hard for me to imagine babies and new homes and stuff. Thinking about big life changes like that feels weird, not exciting – but maybe it’s because we don’t have a plan?
Question: Do you have a 5 year plan?
best of luck on your race!
wait for babies…it’s ok.
you make me laugh.
I feel like I barely have a 5 week plan and I like that right now.
You are rocking that swim cap, chica. And rocking the watermelon baby belly!
Right now my five year plan is basically along the lines of: Graduate. Get a job. Get an apartment. Exist.
Yah…….
Ha ha ha about you not getting a belly when getting pregnant one day 🙂
A 5 year plan? Yes, me and hubby have one together and we are striving towards that. I think it’s good to have one as a couple. Makes it exciting to work together on something.
Well done on the Run, Bike and Swimming altogether. You rock!
It’s your first Tri – just go out, enjoy and finish it.
I’m totally the person that always has a 5 year plan. However, I’m currently dating someone who is always on-the-go and never has a plan! So, nope no plans for me now. Haha!
I’m just starting to debate joining/training for a triathalon and it was really nice to see this post. It gave me a bit calmness that I’m not the only one who will have to do one just for the heck of seeing where you are at.
Thanks for this post!
-Michelle
Hey – just wanted to say I’m excited for you to get out there and do the triathlon. I just completed my first a couple weeks ago, and I was in the exact same position as you, except I didnt own a bike or even know how to swim. I was so scared to leave running because it was how I had lost and maintained my weight, and I thought my whole schedule would get messed up. But after deciding to train for a triathlon (at first, just so i could put a bumper sticker on my car), I found that having multiple forms of cardio kept me mentally in it. I feel like I have so many more options, and I don’t always work the same muscles. Riding can be scary, but you can do it. I also found that I enjoy the challenging of trying to get good (or at the very least, competent) at something new. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I’ve found that the cycling and swimming communities (at gyms, events, open water swims, etc.) has been just as welcoming and encouraging as the running community has been. There are some basic etiquette things you have to learn for each, but people are more than happy (in a not judgmental or rude way at all) to let you know about them – as if someone showed them the same courtesy when they started.
you can do it!
Lauren
I feel the same way about pacing a run. I want the splits to be at my goal pace. Though me splits tend to be all over and usually average out around my goal.
Hi! I love your blog and have been an avid reader for quite a while. I feel I can really relate to you in so many ways, which is why I was looking forward to the Weight Loss Wednesday posts 🙁 I was sad when I didn’t see it posted yesterday 🙁 Were you going to continue with this?
Anyway, just want to say thanks for always being an inspiration for me! If it weren’t for you I probably would have quit running by now. Thanks!
Hi Jenny, Yes I’m going to continue WLW but didn’t have time for a helpful post yesterday. It’ll be back next week. Did you have any questions or specific topics you wanted addressed or just my own updates?
I have a 5 year plan but it never goes as I expect, so I’ve learned to be flexible. For example, 5 years ago, I was very unhealthy and really focused on my career and the goal was to move somewhere cheaper, buy a house, make a ton of money in appreciation, and move back to where we were. Ha! We love it where we’re at, I love what I do for work but I have fierce addiction to triathlon as a hobby, it’s no longer my only focus, and our house – well, we’re lucky to have it be worth as much as it was 5 years ago when we bought it.
Wow, long comment. Also, I am so not ready to have children either, though I haven’t ruled it out completely. I still feel like a kid myself!
Way to make it through your first full tri practice! I want to do a tri next summer, but am terrified of open water swimming and the thought of breaking down on my bike. This one sounds like the perfect tri for a beginner!
I definitely do not have a 5 year plan. I figure things never really work out as we plan, so I might as well save myself the worry and just roll with the punches!
Nice workout!
I had a 5 year plan…now 5 years later, I’m still working on that plan!
I applaud you for doing a tri. I biked yesterday for the first time in 10 or so years and man, it was tougher than I thought! Those seats are no joke too. Time for some padded shorts for me!
Plan shman! Although I think plans are a good idea in theory , they don’t always work in real life……they can also mess with your head. If there is anything I have learned over the years it is that life can really throw you for a loop. Expect the unexpected…
Go with your gut Monica, you WILL know when you are ready to have a baby and make the move in to a house. The only solid advice I can give you is to really protect yourself. Save as much money as you possibly can to keep your payments low, and make sure you and your husband have solid insurance policies.
Babies can survive quite nicely in small places!! If you have to work 3-4 jobs between the two of you to make that mortgage payment…it is NOT worth it (speaking from experience). A house is not a home if you’re not in it!!
Good luck with the tri, you will do great!!
I used to have a 5 year plan, but then I realized – what’s the point? Things never really work out like they think you are going to, and comparing my plan to what actually happened, I realized that my plan totally sucked… Oh well!
I am SO excited to hear about your tri! I was going to start training for one in September, but then I got preggo, and that’s not a good time to start riding a bike… Maybe I’ll start with the swimming?
I think I have too many 5 year plans. Buy the place we are currently renting and remodel it, buy a different place all together, move to Costa Rica, go back to grad school….argh! I’m overwhelmed!
I don’t currently have a 5-year plan, but I do have things I hope to happen within the next five years. Seems backward, but I’m still trying to figure it all out.
And I just know I’m not going to be one of those women who gets huge all over if I get pregnant. Not one of those “lucky” women who don’t even look pregnant from behind.
I also know that I’m going to get fat all over when I get pregnant, not looking forward to it. I have a five year plan in my head, but know that it’s more a figment of my imagination than something that could actually happen. Expectations lead to a disappointment with reality.
I don’t know if I would say I have a 5-year plan per say, but the husband and I did decide to buy a house and at least stay in this general area for as long as it takes to get a return on the investment of buying a home. Five years ago I had a 3 year plan of moving back to Boston (closer to my family). That never happened. Then I started dating hubs and I figured in a year we’d be engaged, and THAT didn’t happen (happened in 2 years though!) so I give up on long term planning because I’m apparently not that good at it. haha. I can only plan as far as my next few races!
I am constantly trying to figure out our 5 year plan as well. It’s easy…for the next few months only. Haha, planning even a year out is hard!!
Good job with the tri training. Keep it up!
What’s a 5 year plan? 😉
I had planned to get married and start having children in my late 20’s early 30’s. I was 3 kids deep and 8yrs married by the time I hit 30. I gave up planning. haha
Good job on the tri training!!! I have found that life kinda laughs back at you a bit when you try to plan too much. I think being prepared and having goals/ideas is good but trying to exactly plan it out just seems to scary to me. Like babies for instance #1 took 5 years to create, didn’t plan on that. #2 surprised us in 1 month, didn’t plan on that. What’s the saying? “Make a plan of how you want your life to go and listen to God laugh” something like that…
I don’t have a 5 year plan really, but I’m starting graduate school next month to become an RD. I live with my boyfriend and our dog in our rental house and that’s how I like it for now. Since I’m in school, it’s hard to plan on where I will be after the next 3 years. I totally understand not being in that mindset. I think that’s a part of being in your 20’s- making that transition. That AND being broke.
did you have any coaching when you first started swimming? that’s the only thing holding me back from trying out a tri…
Not at first, I’ve only had about 4 swims so far. The swim for this is in the pool, if it was open water I’d be toast.
Hideously type A personality = I pretty much have the rest of my life planned out. 2 years from now? Finished grad school and training to be a probation officer. 3 years? Happily working and married. 4 years? Working on baby #1. 5 – baby #2.
Whether or not it actually turns out that way, I’ll have to wait and see. 🙂
Personally, I think people that have a five year plan are lying, either to themselves or others. Life always has a way of throwing unexpected things in to make it interesting. 🙂
Way to go on your first attempt at putting all your hard work together. I am sure you will do great at your tri, just take your time.
My plans stopped after I got my doctorate. I have been planning on getting my Dr. since I was 5 years old…literally. So after I graduated in May I got kinda lost and I still am. The only thing on my 5 yr plan is to run Boston sometime in the next 5 years….I know ambitious but it is just a goal.
Love the preggo pic. My goal is to look like Janae HRG Jacobs when I am preggo 🙂
My goal is to look like Janae all the time. So far I’m failing 😉
LOL! I was a big all over pregnant gal. I don’t miss that!
Ha! I love Janae’s blog, and I love yours, too, Monica – looking forward to all your preggo posts – if and when you ever get there. No pressure! Seriously, wait AS LONG AS YOU CAN, girl!
Thanks Sarah <3
I used to have a 5 year plan, I’m 24 and swore I would be married or at least engaged, yup that isn’t happening anytime soon 🙂 – so I have given up on plans.
Re: the 5 year plan. Everything is so up in the air right now with us its hard to imagine what we’ll be doing. Option A is that my husband will be in the army and we’ll be living God knows where and I’ll be doing who knows what. Option B is that he’ll have his degree and *hopefully* I’ll have a shiny new career for myself.
Re: the first tri. I did mine earlier this month and it was a butt kicker. I think you and I have the same attitude about it though. I did it with no expectations other than finishing under my own power. I set a baseline for myself and learned A FREAKING BUTT TON about doing a triathlon. I know what I need to work on for the next year and I can back next June with some expectations. Best of luck to you this weekend!
Hey for the swimming part, if you get too tired, you can always lay on your back and float. (I did swimming and water polo in high school and I had to do that far too many times)
50m pools are actually better (and easier!) for me because flip turns still tire me out a bit (even after working hard on my fitness swimming for 4 years!). It sounds like you’re totally ready and you’re gonna do great!!!!! The bike is my weakest segment too…when I did a half ironman I wanted to die for the whole 3 1/2 hours on the bike. It was way worse than any pain I’ve felt during the marathons I’ve run. I say just go out and have fun! It’s short enough that it’ll be over in a flash 🙂
I’m very impressed you are tri-ing a tri! I want to so bad but I am still too scared. I would like to find a really, really beginner option but only if it includes swimming in the 3ft kiddie pool 🙂 I’m excited to see how yours goes though 🙂
And I have NO 5-year plan… just the thought of getting married scares the bejeebez out of me so at least you are a step ahead there!
And PS, I would also NOT be one of those only pregnant in the belly types. I can just tell I would be pregnant in the hips and butt 😉