I was thrilled when I found out that I’d won the Trigirl competition. I’d wanted to get into triathlon training for a while and didn’t really know where to start, so I was delighted to get the chance to go on the Trigirl Workshop as part of my competition prize. I felt a little bit daunted being a complete novice as to what to expect, but the workshop day was pitched just right for someone like me.
The group consisted of 6 ladies of varying ability, some were runners, we had an experienced swimmer, a couple of ladies that did duathlons and one lady that had completed a couple of sprint tri’s – a really good mixture. Our coach for the day was Kim Ingleby who really knew her stuff being a current competitor herself.
We covered all three of the disciplines starting with cycling. I hadn’t even considered certain aspects such as dismounting and mounting your bike, and how to change your tyre at the side of the road. Kim gave some great advice on choosing the right gear, I don’t have a tri bike just yet so it was reassuring to hear that there are people that compete without them to start with, and that I won’t look daft on a mountain bike! It was great fun to practice this with the other ladies. We went over the details around transition and had a practice at getting our gear ready with tips on how to lay it all out ready for action.
In the afternoon we jumped into the pool and did a 400m time trial to give us a good idea of where we currently are. I had some great tips, learning from the experienced swimmer in the group. My time of 10:39 placed me right in the middle, it was interesting to see the other members of the group in action with commentary from Kim on hints and tips on how to improve technique, and how to learn from others in the group. I overstretch on my front crawl making me less efficient in the water, so I picked up some drills to help me improve my technique. I think swimming will be my biggest challenge, so I was really appreciative of the advice. Kim suggested some adult swim classes to boost my confidence.
Once we’d done our swim session we had a go at putting the whole thing together with a mini tri. As part of my prize I’d won a Trigirl tri suit, so this was my chance to try it out. I thought I’d feel a bit like a wrestler. Being a lady I was a bit curious as to what you wear for tri, particularly how do you support your boobs? The trisuit that I chose had a specific bra to go with it that you wear underneath, and the bum bit was supported with some padding. It was actually really comfortable and far more flattering than I had expected, making me really felt the part! The mini tri was my highlight of the day and gave me lots to learn from. A great tip was to UHU your trainer soles to your trainers as the first thing they did was slip out with my wet feet.
We finished the day with some advice on nutrition and with a question and answer session. Kim provided us with a 12 week training plan and gave some advice on how to adapt our plan around certain commitments.
Overall it was a fantastic day, a really great starting point I believe, for people like me.
The workshop left me feeling really motivated and ready to get stuck into training. I’ve signed up for 2 sprint triathlons in a pool in July and August, then I’m going to do my first open water tri in the Cotswold Water Park in September (aaarrrgghh).
For more information about Triathlon Coach Kim Ingleby visit her website http://www.energisedperformance.com/
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