On July 25, 2020 I completed my first sprint triathlon. I was apprehensive because the idea of it seemed so unsurmountable. I thought that I might as well do it before I’m too old or injured. What did I do to prepare? I didn’t train consistently. I crammed running and biking sessions six days before the event as if it were a college exam, which is never a good thing in athletics or academics. I didn’t practice my swim, a bit arrogant on my part. As a result, I gassed early in the swim because my technique was no efficient. I finished though. During the race? It was actually pretty fun, minus the swim. I knew I could do a sprint triathlon because I have done all the disciplines and distances separately before at least once in my life. The curve ball is to, do all three in a row. A sprint triathlon is roughly 550 yard swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. I was tired during the race but I still enjoyed myself. The whole experience was an adventure. From getting up early, to staging my bike, to preparation of equipment, and my nutrition. The only negative was that I had no one to share the experience with. Will I do it again? Yeah, Sure. I feel that I should give this sport an honest try. An honest try would be one year. My next triathlon is a relay triathlon in Katy, Texas on September 5th. I will do the swim portion and my two teammates from Jiu Jitsu will do the bike and running portions.
Chemistry
I was a bit worried but completed the class with a C. It took a lot of studying to understand the material. I took the class online. The amount of individual study time was challenging. Especially without a teacher to break down the material with multiple examples. I had videos, but it is not the same. As I write this, a month and a half after I completed the class, I don’t remember a majority of the material. It is a shame that these science classes are just prerequisites. It would have been beneficial for me to be in class and learn with solid examples (chemistry pun). The take away from the experience is that I need to ask for help sooner with tutoring or email the teacher for more guidance. Repetition and constant reviewing was also something that could have helped my understanding.
Spanish 2312.
I’m just about done with my summer semester at Lonestar North Harris. I’m really disappointed with the foreign language education here in the U.S. I wish there could be an efficient way to teach students foreign languages instead of the sink or swim method. The current way of online education is very archaic. (That last sentence was an oxymoron?) I will continue learning and improving my level. I will have to find other methods. U.S. Education falls short in this aspect. I will look to polyglots to expand my level.
Water color.
I will let show my work and let this post be a baseline for my water color progress. I switched my journal to a watercolor sketchbook. By doing this, I hope to paint everyday. Hopefully.
In conclusion, this summer I completed the tasks I wanted to accomplish. I finished my first sprint triathlon. I need to be more consistent with training to become better at it. I completed my chemistry class, which was the last class I needed for my Associate’s. I will complete my Spanish class with an A. My watercolor progress has started. In my next post I will write about my fall semester at Sam Houston.
markmagpusao.com 