Heart beware: triathlon is coming

A friend recently sent me a link to an article in USA Today with the headline "Study: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risk." At first, I thought, here we go again with another insignificant study that some random college professor decided to implement for his research. While I don't necessarily agree that triathlons pose a heart risk (even the study said the rate is 15 of a million) the article had some good advice for triathletes or anyone interested in doing a triathlon.

The article states that the most probable time during a triathlon where one suffers from heart failure is during the swim. Or at least, the swim is where most fatalities have occurred. Let's face it: the swim can be the scariest part. You're among a sea of people who are kicking and swimming, and everyone is moving in the same direction to finish. The pure nerves and adrenaline during the swim raises your heart rate. Then you add the physical exercise and the cold water -- you're body is in hyperactivity mode.

That's why the article says you should practice swimming in open water. Many people don't -- they do their laps in the pool and think they're ready. But open water swimming is vastly different and here's why:

• Pool: a guiding line helps you stay straight. Open Water: frequent spotting is necessary to make sure you're not going off course.
  
• Pool: water is a warm temperature and you don't need to wear a wetsuit. Open Water: water is usually colder and you need a wetsuit, which can sometimes alter your stroke.
  
• Pool: you swim in your lane and nobody bothers you. Open Water: you swim among hundreds, sometimes thousands, and you're in their way. You'll get kicked, punched, elbowed...and you have to fight back or you'll sink.
  
• Pool: you can see everything. Open Water: you see nothing, not even your hand in front of you.
  

So, what I'm trying to say is that if you're training for a triathlon, you should swim in open water at least a couple times. And you can do this by taking a friend to a nearby lake and swimming in a cove or entering a smaller practice race leading up to your race. Either way, you will learn how to spot, swim w/ a wetsuit and get used to colder water. And, always, always go for a practice swim in the actual place where you will swim during the race -- it eases your nerves because you know what to expect and how the water feels. Come race day, know where you should be when the swim starts. If you're a fast swimmer, get up front. But if you're not, stay in the back and to the side so that you stay out of the way and can focus on your stroke.

One more point the articles makes is that you should consult with a doctor before pursuing a strenuous activity like triathlons. Before I started triathlons, I assumed these multisport athletes were a group of muscular, zero-percent body fat machines. But when I volunteered at Ironman Arizona to see what a triathlon was all about, I saw people of all shapes and sizes. Anyone, no matter if you're overweight, underweight, muscular or flabby, and whether you are doing a triathlon or some other exercise, you can be at risk of heart failure. So, always get a health checkup before taking on such a challenge as a triathlon.

A New Way to Run

In November 2008, I injured my leg while training for the PF Chang's Marathon in Phoenix. I built up my mileage too quick and ended up inflaming my popliteus muscle. Needless to say, it was a major disappointment. Suddenly, I couldn't run and although running was my least favorite activity of the trifecta, it builds your stamina and strength. And you just feel so good after it! I couldn't do the marathon and not being able to run regularly was a huge blow to my capabilities, confidence and motivation.

I've been going through routine physical therapy and chiro appointments (thank you Dr. Sherman in Phx and Dr. Rabbetz in SF!) since my injury, and at each appointment I have been waiting for the doctor to utter those three words... "try running again."

Until those words were spoken, though, I had to find another way to exercise my legs that's similar to running. I was still cycling, but you know as much as I do that cycling uses different muscles than running. So, the doctor suggested AQUA JOGGING. What? Run in the pool? How the heck does that work?

It works great! I never thought I would clip into a waist floatie (you know, the ones that old ladies use when they're doing aqua jazzercise!) and run laps in the pool. But this exercise surprised me! It gives your leg muscles a hard challenge but has no hard impact. It's really a perfect solution for those suffering injuries!

While aqua jogging comes as close as you can to running w/o agitating your injury, I have to admit there are downfalls. It doesn't give you a real heavy cardio workout, but I think it could once you build up your endurance or if you do sprints. I've only been doing 15 minutes at a medium pace, but I know others who aqua run for an hour w/o a floatie and they get a serious workout. The other negative is that it can be extremely boring because you are pushing yourself across the pool at a verrrryyy sllllloooowwww pace. But that's something that music (they have waterproof iPod holders) or a chatty workout buddy could easily fix. I haven't done either...I resort to talking to myself.

Overall, I highly recommend those who are going through an injury and having running withdrawals to try aqua running. If you want to keep the feeling of running in your legs, and continue strengthening those muscles, aqua running is an ideal exercise! Of course, you should consult with your doctor first!

And my injury? Well, it's been healing successfully. Last week I started running for 15 minutes at a very slow pace, which is such a kick to the ego, but boy it felt good! Those 15 minutes felt like I just won a race. I felt great physically, mentally and spiritually. Ahhhh, it's good to be back. I'm up to 20 minutes this week. Cross your fingers for me!

The First of Many

Welcome to the first of many blogs about being a triathlete in a big city. I'll use this first entry to introduce myself and hopefully pique your interest enough to come back. When I reflect on how I got to this moment, here's how the story goes.

I grew up in a small town in Arizona called Bullhead City. Save the jokes, please, I know the city's name is ridiculous. There is one main street, one hospital, no shopping mall (not even a Target), and there were 160 students in my high school graduating class. The nearest "large" city was Las Vegas, which was a two-hour drive. I moved to Phoenix to go to college and I never looked back. Phoenix is a large city, but it's not the kind of city where you outsource laundry, take public transportation to work and walk home from a night of partying.

Phoenix is where I discovered my passion for triathlons. I've always been a person who sought challenges -- anything that could make me stronger and more confident in myself. I had never cycled more than to/from my apartment during college, never swam professionally or even recreationally, and I hated, let me repeat, HATED running. But I met a triathlon coach who convinced me that I could do it.

After a month of listening to him talk about triathlons and the sense of accomplishment you feel when you cross that finish line, I was intrigued and decided to check it out. He invited me to swim practice. Suddenly I felt like I was at my first day of school. As giddy as I was, I was also very nervous. In an attempt to look like I belonged with the cool kids, I bought an appropriate swimsuit (my bikini wouldn't cut it, unless I wanted to be laughed at), goggles and a swim cap. I showed up feeling anxious and nervous, but completely open to trying something new. I jumped in the water, felt a bit of a chill but not because the water was cold, and started swimming.

After that I never looked back. Next thing you know, I'm buying clip-in cycling shoes, selecting running shoes and signing up for my first tri. Within five months I did an all-women sprint tri to benefit breast cancer research. It was a blast and I had the best adrenaline high during my race and felt even better after. Two years later, I'm still obsessed with triathlons and have signed up for two Ironman races this year.

So where does the city part come in? In January 2009, my husband and I moved to San Francisco for his job. It's a tough economy and he had a solid job we couldn't afford to lose. So, here I am. One of millions in 49 square miles of city. When I first heard we had to move, my immediate thoughts were..."Who am I going to train with? Where am I going to ride? Is the weather good enough to run outside?"

These questions and more will be answered in future posts...