Jumping in with both feet!

As I said at the beginning of the year, two of my "running" resolutions were to get a quicker 5k and compete in a triathlon.  Well, I'm getting on my way there...

I have looked up and will be following Hal Higdon's Advanced 5k plan.  I am looking to cut a minute off of my 5k PR (hopefully).  If Hal doesn't bring it, I don't know who will.  The 5k I'm shooting for is the AmazinGrace on May 6th.  So, 5 weeks out.  Obviously I couldn't start at the beginning of the plan but I have a good base so I'm just going to jump right in where I am.  The plan calls for increasing long runs on the weekend starting with a 70 minute run.  Now, if I ran at my slowest, 10:00 pace, that would only give me 7 miles.  So I may just make some of my long runs longer.  Or I may not.  I am going to try and go by feel.  I'm excited about having a plan again.  I get so lost when I don't have a set amount of miles or minutes or pace I should be doing.  Just like my students at school, I need structure.  As I have said before, I'm a planner.  Let's make a plan.

As for my second resolution, the triathlon, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it.  Actually, it has been on my mind a lot recently, especially yesterday as I watched the videos of the Half-Ironman in Texas.  I would like to make my way up to this distance...but I'm going to have to get in the water and on a bike to make that happen.  This is why I contacted the master swim coach tonight via email.  Eeek!  This is a huge step and makes me extremely nervous.  What if I can't swim well enough?  What if I just flop around like some beached whale?  Will everyone laugh at me?  I took swimming lessons as a kid but that was a long time ago.  I'm extremely anxious about this.  It is a great fear/challenge for me to overcome.  I will keep you posted.

The bike...shall come soon, my friends.  I have been searching online trying to figure out what kind and size to buy.  Considering I am freakishly short, I'm afraid it will be difficult.  There are so many different variations that I don't know what to pick or where to look first.  Soooo, if you are my friend and enjoy all things bicycles, please, help me out.  I have no idea what I am doing.  I am also extremely anxious about riding too.  I'm afraid no one will want to ride with me because I will be too slow but I am hoping these cheerleader quads are good for something and will help me out on the bike :)

I will leave you with this quote that I found very motivational...

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."
-PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian