You only live once, amiright?!

So, about a month ago, there I sat with my boyfriend and my puppy, cuddled up on the couch browsing the internet on Saturday evening. After a spring and summer filled with my usual ice hockey, a weight lifting phase, a brief foray into crossfit, and then a period of dormancy, I simply couldn't take it any more. I had no motivation, no direction, no "up and at' em" and certainly no desire to get my ass out of bed to work out like I used to.

I attributed my lack of will to my inability to set goals. I seriously suck at it-- in many aspects of my life, but that's another post for another day. I do really well when I have a concrete thing that other people are holding me accountable for, (like an MBA... ) but I am not a self-motivator. I can't go running for the sake of going running, unless something is chasing me or I have an upcoming race and I don't want to embarrass myself.

I turned to Darin, my super in-shape, self-motivating boyfriend, and said, "I'm going to sign up for a triathlon." He said, "That's cool. Do you want to think about it for a bit?" Defiantly, I said, "NO! I'm doing it now." With a couple clicks, quick keystrokes, and the recitation of my credit card number (which has become a frequent thing for this sport, so far haha), I, Katherine E. Keeports, troubled swimmer, labored runner, and lazy biker, signed up for the inaugural Brooklyn Triathlon on November 10, 2013.

The next morning, I woke up, got out of bed, scratched my sleepy head and went-- "Um.... I signed up for a what?!" To be honest, I really had been wanting to get into triathlon for the last year, but my grad school and full-time work schedule just simply wouldn't let it happen, but this whole scenario was hilarious for a couple reasons. The first, probably, is that I can't swim. Well, I couldn't swim when I signed up-- but I'm making leaps and bounds of progress! More on that later. Second, is that the swim will be taking place in November. In New York. In the Bay. In what will probably be 50-something degree water. I have quickly learned about many necessary accessories involving neoprene and anti-hypothermia properties that I will be absolutely adorning myself with. Yeeha, right?! Third, is that, outside of swimming, I was absolutely not prepared in any way. I had no viable bike, very few biking accessories, even my running shoes were falling apart. But I did have a pair of chamoise shorts and a whole lot of heart!

Anyhoot, I started swimming by myself in my parents' pool (I was too shy to go to the Y). I bought an awesome bike from the nice guys at Wooden Wheels in Newark and rode it blissfully. I ran a few times-- lumbering through 5k distances like a polar bear on its hind legs (allow yourself to revel in the visual, there). 

I attended a swim clinic with TriCoach and met Kevin Danahy and Bruce Clayton-- two awesome, accomplished triathletes and USAT certified triathlon coaches. This swim clinic opened my eyes and made me really realize what it would take to finish (read: not drown) at Brooklyn. (Sidenote: Bruce is now my coach!) I met Kate, who said she would be interested in Brooklyn too, and I am so excited to train and compete with her-- she's an awesome swimmer.

So, here I am. Week 1, Day 1 of my training plan. Today was swim day! I have completed an ocean swim, a lake swim (where I swam race distance-- so stoked), and many hours in the pool-- and today was the first day I didn't feel like a uncoordinated Labrador in a one-piece-- I actually felt like I semi-knew what I was doing. I even shared a lap lane with someone! Legit. At the lake swim (which was my last swim before today), I swam with Katie, who just completed her first tri (and loved it!), and Sue (awesome ironwoman), and as I struggled panting and gasping back to the starting point after 400m, Sue said, "Try it again, but do it at your own pace." That small piece of advice allowed me to swim 800 meters consecutively that day and has been a HUGE help to me in my training! I am keeping this blog as a journal to understand my experiences and reflect on the things I accomplish and the things I need to work on. I KNOW it's going to be an amazing, fun, probably hilarious journey.

In all seriousness, I am so excited to train for this race, to set goals and accomplish them, to make new friends, and to challenge myself on new levels, physically and mentally. This is gonna be awesome!!

XO,

Katie