I signed up for my first triathlon in almost a year and a half and this was the week of the race. The days leading up to it I hit it hard between crossfit and training. I somehow managed to not get as crippling sore as I had done the week prior during crossfit. Maybe I have this training thing down? Yeah, I won’t hold my breath in fear of dying from lack of oxygen though it could be a good training tool for lung capacity. I found out about the race from the guy (Roberto) whom I met in the pool a few weeks back. He, along with everyone in the picture, are all connected through fitness of some sort and we all fitnessed together that day. A very fun group to compete with I must say. This was an indoor tri where distance was the goal not time.
Let me explain what that means (keep in mind this was my very first indoor tri). In outdoor triathlons you have a certain distance you have to swim- 0.5 mile, 1 mile, 1.2 miles, 2.4 miles. Then you have a bike- 12 miles, 24 miles, 56 miles, 112 miles to be finished with the run- 3.1 miles, 6.2 miles, 13.1 miles and 26.2 miles. In case you were wonder what these distances are, they are a sprint, olympic, half ironman, and a full ironman distances. You have a distance that is designated that you must complete for time. In an indoor tri, you have a time (10 minutes for the swim, 30 minutes for the bike and 20 minutes for the run) that you must complete as much distance as possible. In crossfit this would be considered an AMRAP (as many rounds as possible).
We were allowed to get into the pool to warm up and holy balls the pool was fucking cold. I’m used to the YMCA pools which are pretty warm compared to this one. I anticipated adrenaline kicking in and I wouldn’t notice how fridgid the water was and that was exactly what happened.
I had 10 minutes to swim as fast and far as possible. I don’t sprint for anything so this was going to be a challenge for me but a good one. I started off strong until I got 3 laps in and thought I was going to fucking drown. I lost breath, I lost rhythm, I lost focus so I had to figure out real fast how to get it back. I slowed my pace and took a breath after every 1-2 strokes. It helped. It calmed me and got me back on track. Finally the 10 minutes was up and now time for the bike.
Normally you would put on socks in the transition and keep going but since this was indoor we had time to change and get on our shit in order (a 10 minute transition is pretty generous). I got on my bike along with my fellow mates and waited for the time to begin.
This was basically like a spin class but without an instructor. We all cycled but along the way we joked and laughed. We probably weren’t working hard enough if we could still make jokes and laugh but this was a friendly competition after all. Turn up the tension!
We had a 5 minute transition to the run. Basically enough time to get to the treadmills and get some instruction. I had 20 minutes ahead of me. I looked at this time as a good brick training. As we all get on our treadmills (mind you almost everyone in this group are runners…..I AM NOT) ready to go….lets run! I was told that most everyone was running at an 8-9 mph pace. I was at 7.1 to start and 7.9 to finish. FUCK that sucked!
With an hour workout behind me and my first competition leading upto the main event, I couldn’t have asked for a better group to do it with. I hope that I get the opportunity to continue to train with these lovely people!
Oh and you might be wondering how I finished, still don’t know yet but I will say…..for the first time in ALL of my competing I have never had the number “1” bib. That is one to keep even if I didn’t finish that way. I am a winner! LOL
katie palmer moore 