Gear Bought & Training Update

Today we went to Sports Authority to grab some easy-to-get and much needed swim gear. I got myself some socket rocker goggles by Speedo, which makes me happy. I wanted the hardcore, plastic-only ones like I used to wear but they didn't have, so I got the next best thing.

I also picked up two swim caps, which I never used to wear except at meets because they are uncomfortable. But I never used to have hair like this, and it must be tamed! I will not have it choke or slow me down. Into a cap with you then! Right now I'll be swimming in board shorts, though I think I have an old pair of zoomers hidden away somewhere. Drag is good, it'll make me stronger. I have a feeling the swim will be all arms so I can save my legs for legs two and three.
I also needed a cheap watch so that I can keep track of my times. Sports Authority was not much help in the "cheap" department. They had fancy watches that keep track of heart rate, splits, phase of the moon, blood type, caloric intake, respiration, mood, toenail length, and so on. I was just looking for a bloody waterproof watch with a stopwatch feature. To Target! $10 later I have my watch.

As promised, here is the link to my training plan:
The Original 13 Week Sprint Training Plan
I may make some modifications as I find out how my body handles the schedule. Those will be tracked here, of course. I'll be starting in on Monday with the first workout. And tomorrow I'll be heading into Waikiki to check out our local triathlon store, Island Triathlon & Bike, to ask some questions about training and gear. Maybe they'll have some leads on cheap bikes.
One last thing. As soon as I can figure out how to do it I'll be linking a Paypal account to this blog and asking for sponsorship (donations). This feels awkward for me, asking for friends to chip in so I can work out, so here's how I'm going to alleviate some of that feeling. Assuming donations do come in, once I get enough to help me get started getting my ride on and sign up for the race I'll take the extra and put it towards a charity. I think most triathlons are sponsored by one charity or another so I'll take a look at that. If not, I'll choose one on my own. There, now I feel better about subtly asking people for money. Hopefully this won't be a one-off deal and eventually, once I'm set for gear, I'll be able to use a larger percentage towards charity and a smaller towards race registration. When I'm at the store tomorrow I'll also ask if they have any suggestions for sponsorship, since I've seen a few things about it on boards. The sponsorship link on the Ko'Olina Tri website itself, though, was not what I thought it was. Bummer.
Signing off for now. Will update either tomorrow after the trip to the store if its amazingly helpful and I just have to share, or after my first day's training. Thanks for reading.

Training Log Supplemental:
After a little more investigating I may have found another training program I like better. I can't link directly to it because it's a .pdf but the website its from is called Sprint Triathlon Training. I had to sign up (free!) in order to get to the file. I think it might work better than the other. Time for some homework.