First OFFICIAL Test
So today was the annual Lifetime Indoor Triathlon. One year ago this race signified the start of what I thought would be my triathlon career. After a speed bump last year this is the take two of my triathlon career.
You may be asking yourself, what is an Indoor Triathlon?
In a regular triathlon there is a set distance that you are trying to complete in the best possible time. In an Indoor Triathlon there is a set time and you try to go as far as you can. So a 10 minute swim, 30 minutes on a spin bike and 20 minutes on a treadmill.
There were some butterflies and a little anxiety as I waited in the pool to begin, but once the whistle blew all of that went away.
The first 100 yards went great, 1:48, a little faster than I would’ve liked, but I was trying to remember and implement what I learned in my 7 hour, yes 7 hour swim clinic yesterday. Sharing a lane with a good friend and teammate which allowed for some drafting was just what I needed, and then at 125 yards it happened........CALF CRAMP!
I’ve suffered from these in the pool before and they are not fun at all. The one benefit of an Indoor Triathlon is the swim takes place in a pool which allowed me to stop and do my best to stretch the nightmare away. After a quick stretch I started back up. Pain was still there so I switched to breast stroke for a lap and then saw my coach pacing the pool deck. He looked at me and simply said, “stop kicking and just pull with your arms”. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the whistle blew again signifying the end of the swim. 16 laps, 400 yards. Not my best, but I’ll take it under the circumstances.
Time to put that behind me and get upstairs to the bike.
I had a feeling that if I could get through the first few minutes my calf would loosen up and I’d be fine.
Fortunately, the first few minutes passed and things seemed to improve. Having my running teammates along side of me, my Tri club teammates around me and ridiculously supportive volunteers certainly helped as well. Having Lori standing in front of me telling me that I could do this was the icing on the cake to get me pedaling faster.
30 minutes on the bike passed rather quickly and uneventfully. 10 miles in 30 minutes
Now it was time to run. This is obviously my strongest of the three disciplines, however I really didn’t know what to expect. The plan was to run for 9 minutes and walk for 1. If I wasn’t feeling it then I’d switch to a shorter run. Again I saw my coach and this time the advice was, “things don’t always go as planned, adapt and overcome”. I took that to heart and with Lori standing by my side and Jordan standing in front of me screaming his head off I dug deep and ran hard.
I felt like at that point, they’ve endured the training thus far and giving anything less than 110% wouldn’t have been fair to them and definitely would not have sent the right message to Jordan.
2 miles in 20 minutes.
As I continue on this journey that will culminate in 217 days in Maine I am sure that I will have many learning experiences. Today I learned that things are not always going to go as planned, even in a completely controlled environment. I also learned that when things go sideways I need to remember to remain calm, control my nerves and take a deep breath and things will get better. Last but not least I must always remember to trust my training and know that I CAN AND WILL DO THIS!
You may be asking yourself, what is an Indoor Triathlon?
In a regular triathlon there is a set distance that you are trying to complete in the best possible time. In an Indoor Triathlon there is a set time and you try to go as far as you can. So a 10 minute swim, 30 minutes on a spin bike and 20 minutes on a treadmill.
There were some butterflies and a little anxiety as I waited in the pool to begin, but once the whistle blew all of that went away.
The first 100 yards went great, 1:48, a little faster than I would’ve liked, but I was trying to remember and implement what I learned in my 7 hour, yes 7 hour swim clinic yesterday. Sharing a lane with a good friend and teammate which allowed for some drafting was just what I needed, and then at 125 yards it happened........CALF CRAMP!
I’ve suffered from these in the pool before and they are not fun at all. The one benefit of an Indoor Triathlon is the swim takes place in a pool which allowed me to stop and do my best to stretch the nightmare away. After a quick stretch I started back up. Pain was still there so I switched to breast stroke for a lap and then saw my coach pacing the pool deck. He looked at me and simply said, “stop kicking and just pull with your arms”. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the whistle blew again signifying the end of the swim. 16 laps, 400 yards. Not my best, but I’ll take it under the circumstances.
Time to put that behind me and get upstairs to the bike.
I had a feeling that if I could get through the first few minutes my calf would loosen up and I’d be fine.
Fortunately, the first few minutes passed and things seemed to improve. Having my running teammates along side of me, my Tri club teammates around me and ridiculously supportive volunteers certainly helped as well. Having Lori standing in front of me telling me that I could do this was the icing on the cake to get me pedaling faster.
30 minutes on the bike passed rather quickly and uneventfully. 10 miles in 30 minutes
Now it was time to run. This is obviously my strongest of the three disciplines, however I really didn’t know what to expect. The plan was to run for 9 minutes and walk for 1. If I wasn’t feeling it then I’d switch to a shorter run. Again I saw my coach and this time the advice was, “things don’t always go as planned, adapt and overcome”. I took that to heart and with Lori standing by my side and Jordan standing in front of me screaming his head off I dug deep and ran hard.
I felt like at that point, they’ve endured the training thus far and giving anything less than 110% wouldn’t have been fair to them and definitely would not have sent the right message to Jordan.
2 miles in 20 minutes.
As I continue on this journey that will culminate in 217 days in Maine I am sure that I will have many learning experiences. Today I learned that things are not always going to go as planned, even in a completely controlled environment. I also learned that when things go sideways I need to remember to remain calm, control my nerves and take a deep breath and things will get better. Last but not least I must always remember to trust my training and know that I CAN AND WILL DO THIS!
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