I’ve got some exciting news today! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a race due to my SI joint injury, and I definitely miss the feeling of signing up for a race, training for something hard, and crossing the finish line. I’m going to be starting a slow, supervised return to running in a few weeks with my PT, but I’m so far away from being race ready again. And let’s face it, that’s how I got injured in the first place so I’m not exactly in a rush to get back to competitive running anytime soon. But luckily there’s a few races coming up in Anchorage that don’t involve running, and I signed up for them both!
Race #1 is the Bike for Women. It’s a 9 mile bike race in the hilly suburbs of Anchorage. I’ve never done a bike race before and I’m definitely nervous about the hills and the crowds, but I’m excited to cross my first finish line on a bike!
Race #2 is the Gold Nugget Triathlon! I’ll be swimming 500 yards in the Bartlett High pool, biking 12 miles along the Glenn Highway, and walking and/or running 4.1 miles on a dirt trail back to the high school. Yeah, there’s supposed to be some “running” involved in a swim/bike/run event, but my PT cleared me to sign up because she said I can easily walk the course. I did this women’s only, newbie friendly race last year as my first triathlon, and it was awesome. The experience of training for my first tri was life changing (check out my Tri Newbie Chronicles page for more information about what it was like), and I’m looking forward to doing it again with a little bit more experience under my belt. I’m literally going to start training on Friday because I have a lot of catching up to do!
Bike for Women is on May 7th, and the GNT is on May 21st. Because I can’t run yet and I have PT twice a week, I can’t really follow a typical training plan. So my homemade training plan for both of these races will be:
- 2 days biking/spin
- 2 days swimming
- 2 days of PT
- 1 rest day
I’m planning on signing up for adult swim class again because I know I need as much professional help with swimming as I can get and it was so much fun last year. I’m also hoping to make one workout a week into a brick workout – so either swimming 10 laps before spin class, or walking a few miles on the treadmill after a spin class. I think my PT workouts will soon have some running in them, so hopefully this combo of workouts will get me ready for my second triathlon!
How am I feeling about signing up for my first race in months, especially since I can’t run yet? I’m really excited to be training for something new! Races are a huge way for me to motivate myself to work out and I can’t wait to get started!
Have you ever done a bike race or a triathlon? Any tips for me?
Mom in the Mtns 
I’m so excited for your plans! You are going to have a blast!
Thanks! I hope so!
Congratulations on getting in to the tri! I loved following your swim lessons last year because I am so not a swimmer (or biker for that matter) but I think it is good to get out of my comfort zone every once and a while.
You should try it! Lessons made a huge difference for me and I can’t recommend it enough!
I’ve never done a bike race or a tri, but best of luck to you! I can’t wait to read about it. Great job staying active even though you can’t really run yet. I wish I had that motivation. 🙂
Thanks! I know if I don’t sign up for this stuff I’ll never make it to the gym, so I have to do something!
I completely understand! I sign up for running races for the same reason. 🙂
my next tri is on may 21st too! i can’t wait to follow your training this year, especially since i’ll be in the same place with my training!
No way!!!! That’s awesome! Weren’t we race twins with something else in the past? I feel like we’re the same person! What training plan are you using?
haha yes! i think we were doing a half the same day and going for the same goal time! twinsies forever.
i’m using a free sprint plan that coeur puts out. it’s new to me so i can’t speak for how much i like it yet, but it looks good! it starts on monday and then has a week of a recovery plan after the race.
https://www.coeursports.com/collections/triathlon/products/free-sprint-triathlon-training-plan
I’ve been super hesistant to make the jump and try a tri (pun intended), but good luck to you! The only advice I can think of, is make sure to take advantage of the stage you’re best at, and try to improve on the stage that needs work!
You should try it! I was terrified last year but was really happy with how much better it went than I expected!
I have to ask — what is the bucket for by the bikes in your pic???? I’m clearly not much other than a runner 🙂
Good question! For this tri, we have to put our bikes in the transition area the day before the race. So in the bucket we have all of the gear we need for the race (a towel for my face, my bike helmet, sneakers, my fuel and water for the race, and I also had sunscreen and sunglasses in there too). The towel next to it was to dry my feet off before putting on my shoes after getting out of the pool. I would have left it all there in a bag on race day but apparently up here everyone puts their stuff in a bucket so they can sit on the bucket to put on their sneakers!
Good luck for the race, especially triathlon. Be careful not be injured. Peace.