So Sporty

I got a new watch last week.

The Easter Bunny brought me exactly one egg, but it had money in it, not candy (best Easter egg ever!). Instead of replacing the ratty old shoes that I wear everywhere as the Easter Bunny suggested, I chose to get a watch for my triathlon training. What can I say, I have my priorities. I really should replace those flats, though. They are finally growing holes after being worn for years, all over the world, through all sorts of weather conditions (ask about the snowstorm in Amsterdam sometime!) and the time finally has come that they should go the way of all mortal flesh.

Anyhow, enough about my strange attachment to my cheap shoes. I got a watch from The Wal-Marts for like ten bucks because it was the plainest waterproof design. It's good up to 50 meters, and since I don't like deep water anyway, I'm sure that will suit me just fine. My watch is silver and oh-so-sporty looking on my wrist. I chose silver over pink and am now regretting that decision, but otherwise this watch is perfect. It's very helpful to have the time in great big numbers right on my wrist, rather than stopping mid-swim to squint up at the analog clock which I can hardly read to begin with. I use the alarm to make sure I swim long enough but know when to stop. It's a great little system!

Now, for a quick update on the non-swimming parts of triathlon training: My roommate and I went for this week's long bike ride last night. We biked out to Snail Lake Park, which I would highly recommend for anyone in the area. The trails are great for cross country skiing in the winter, and just as fabulous for biking or running in the summer. It's so beautiful, in fact, that my 58-minute bike ride turned into a 90-minute bike ride. Oops! But I think I might do my training more like this from now on, because I bike everywhere, so I go on many 10-, 15-, or 20-minute bike rides throughout the week. Rather than adding a 35-plus-minute and a 58-plus-minute bike ride on top of that (my current training plan has me biking, swimming, and running twice a week each), I plan to just go on one extended bike once a week for my training. I think that will work out well with my schedule as well as my training needs. Plus I get to feel all important as I custom-design my training plan!

So that's where I am for now. Stay tuned, though: Tomorrow evening, my training buddy KC and I are both going to try to learn flip turns! We'll see if he has better luck than I did the last time I tried to learn.