Monday, May 3, 2010

Indoor Triathlon Race Report & Upcoming Races!

Yesterday I completed my first triathlon of 2010! It was an indoor triathlon and I did it with my friend Jill, my sister Steph, and her friend Amanda! This was Steph and Amanda's first triathlon, evah!


I did this same sort of event two years ago, and it was my first triathlon ever, as well! Here's a comparison of what I did in March of 2008, what my goal was for this time, and what I accomplished this time around:


March 2008 ..........May 2010 GOAL.........May 2010 Results
Swim 17.5 lengths .......Swim 19.5 lengths ........ Swim 20 lengths
Bike 11.4 miles .......... Bike 15 miles .............. Bike 14.8 miles
Run 1.55 miles .......... Run 1.75 miles ............ Run 1.75 miles


The Swim: When all was said and done, I thought that I swam 22 lengths, but I guess I should trust those who were counting, right? I pushed myself pretty hard at the end and finished strong!


T1:
I swear we didn't get our full 10 minutes for transition, but whatev. When we reached the cycling studio, the guy told us we have 1 minute to get on our shoes, adjust the bike and get on. I had to have the girl adjust my seat and handlebars when I started cycling.


The Bike: I felt really good on the bike. I don't think I could have turned my legs over any faster! It was a great 30 minutes of riding!


T2: We had 5 minutes here. I had to kick of my clipless shoes, put on my tenners, and run upstairs to the treadmill.


The Run: My quads were pretty tight but it probably took less than a minute or two to transition into a good stride on the treadmill. I did a bit of walking here and there but pushed myself really hard in the last 6-8 minutes of the 20 minute run. I ended up sprinting (sprinting for me) the last couple of minutes with a pace less than 8:00 minute mile. As soon as I hit pause on that treadmill and jumped off, I thought was going to puke for coming to a quick stop.

I met my goal in all areas but the bike! But, I must admit that the goal I set for the bike was quite a jump from last time. I placed 29th out of 52 participants and both newbies kicked my butt! Congrats, Steph and Amanda on your first triathlon!


Here are a handful of photos:

My sister and I
(wow, I look rough in the morning...messy hair and no make-up!)
Waiting for our wave to start...
On the bike...
Unfortunately, there are no pics of us on the run. The time went by too fast and I forgot.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If you have a Lifetime Fitness near you and are looking to try a triathlon, this is the place to start! Doing an indoor triathlon is a great way to get a feel for the sport!
There was a lot of discussion about race schedules this weekend with these lovely ladies. So much discussion that I am thinking of revamping my race schedule. I have come to the concensus that I will be doing the Average Joe Sprint Triathlon (June 26th) in Perham, MN, and the YWCA Women's Sprint Triathlon (August 15th) in Minneapolis, MN.

However (there's always my signature "however"), I have had the Younglife Olympic Triathlon (Aug. 21st) stuck in my mind for months. I did the sprint distance at this triathlon last year and loved it. I was really looking forward to doing this one as an olympic distance, since I am familiar with the course. The thing is, it's 6 days after the YWCA Women's Sprint Triathlon and I don't know if it's a good idea to do my first olympic triathlon that soon after a sprint triathlon. I am torn. I was hoping to get in an olympic traithlon this year, but it doesn't look like it will happen.

Sooooo..... calling all triathletes, what are your thoughts? Do you think I should/could do the sprint one weekend and then the olympic 6 days later?!

41 comments:

Marlene said...

Congratulations! What an improvement over last time!

Exciting news about your upcoming events as well.

I'm no tri expert, but could you treat the sprint as a training round and take it slow?

Michelle said...

Congratulations! It's awesome to see how far you have come from 08! Way to go!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the indoor triathlon! You did great and improved a lot! I always have such trouble with the bike to run transition, I definitely need to practice it more for my next triathlon.
Your upcoming race schedule looks great! I wouldn't consider myself a triathlete so take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but I would actually think a sprint would be a good preparation for an olympic, as long as sprints don't take that much out of you. Maybe it would also depend if you were really racing the sprint or just doing it for fun with friends and such.

Anne said...

Congratulations...you did an awesome job and you sure improved a lot!

I Run for Fun said...

Congrats! It sounds like a lot of fun. I should check this out...I would sure like to do the swim part in the pool, as opposed to open water.

Carly said...

Congrats on the triathlon finish.

I personally don't think I would do the two races back to back like that. I think I would choose one or the other. But you know your body best, so I would say do what it's telling you to do!

Unknown said...

This has nothing to do with the fact that it's back-to-back tris, I just don't think I would do back to back races like that. I'd pick one to focus on and skip the other.

Julie said...

Woo hoo, congrats on an awesome finish!! I love the pictures:) Also, that is a great looking race race shirt! See all of that hard training paid off:) Go you!

Wes said...

.2 miles is a TIMING ERROR! Way to meet your goals :-)

If you treat the sprint as a training race, then you could do it. If you get carried away, then that will make the next race that much harder. Also, you would need to FOCUS on recovery after the sprint.

There are peeps that do 3 races in one weekend. What do you think you can do?

Steel Springs said...

Awesome! Congratulations! That's an amazing improvement.

MCM Mama said...

Congratulations on your improvement! You did great!

Erika said...

Way to smash you old records! You did amazing!

RockStarTri said...

Sounds like a fun race and you've really improved your fitness! Well done.

Scott McMurtrey said...

Awesome! You rocked it. It looks like a very fun event. If I ever learn to swim...

Aimee said...

Congrats on your first tri! You did awesome! I love the pics, and that shirt looks really cool!

I think you could definitely do the sprint before the Olympic, but like others have said, treat it like a training day. I wouldn't "race" it b/c it can effect your Olympic tri big time.

SavvyFitChica said...

YAY! Nice job! It looks like fun. If only I could run...

I don't know enough to say whether or not you should do one race, then another a week later. I'll tell you the the one piece of advice I tried to follow the most- listen to your body.

AM! said...

fun race. i've never done an indoor tri...and it'd be a cool thing to tri...no punn intended;-)

Kelly said...

I have heard a few people correct our counters. Not that I could do that. But seriously, they'll climb out of the pool, get their lap numbers and say, "oh, no, I had 18laps". Maybe you could do that?

Nice job though on the indoor tri. I love those things.

I have no idea if you can do the two tris. I'm no help.

Anonymous said...

Great job! You make me want to do an indoor tri - except I suck at swimming! Maybe I'll work on that this summer? Awesome job girl - and I don't think you look rough in the morning! I should send you a picture of myself in the AM! ha!

Pining for Pinterest said...

Congratulations!!! I think that would be a great experience to do my first triathalon :) Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a very different but fun tri!!! Good job with your improvements as well!

I am doing a Sprint/Oly back to back this summer...so I say go for it!

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a very different but fun tri!!! Good job with your improvements as well!

I am doing a Sprint/Oly back to back this summer...so I say go for it!

Heather @ Side of Sneakers said...

Cool race!! Great job :)

I think a sprint would be great practice for an oly- but you're the only one who knows how fast you recover, etc. Sounds like a fun challenge though!

Nat said...

You can totally do both. As others have mentioned, treat the sprint as training and don't go all out if your focus is the Oly! :)

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Great improvements!! Congrats on the tri, looking forward to hearing about your next ones!! :)

Unknown said...

GO FOR IT!! I would say just don't go super all out for the sprint tri the weekend before. Good luck!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Congrats!!! 29.6mph average on the bike is pretty darn impressive!!!!!

Ms Eva said...

Way to go! You met your goals and had a lot of fun! An indoor tri is appealing ... hmmm. In regards to your ?, though I haven't yet done a tri, I agree with Wes. Treat the Sprint like a training day, take it easy, etc. You can do it! :)

Turbo Photographs said...

Congrats to you!! And you're right - that is a huge jump on the bike. You still kicked butt!

I don't think I could handle an oly 6 days after a sprint, but I'm very inexperienced at this tri thing. Good luck and keep us posted :)

Anonymous said...

Rock on with your Tri-self. Lovin' the improvement!

Tony said...

Congrats!! You did an awesome job with the indoor tri. I loved the 2 I did this season. I almost puked after the run as well because of the stop. I say do the sprint tri and treat it as a training tri for the olympic tri the next weekend. You can definitely do it. You probably put more work in throughout the week anyways.

J said...

Congrats on a great tri! I think those indoor ones are pretty fun, but the transition time is hard cause you have to change from swimming stuff to biking.

RunToTheFinish said...

hey hey way to go lady!!! Maybe an indoor tri is the way for me to get started

Jess said...

Congrats girl you totally rocked that Tri! I would totally be done for trying a triathlon like that because it would be a fun way to easy into it without investing in the equipment (mainly the bike for me!)

Also, since I read your posts out of order, I think you made the right call on dropping that other tri. Have fun doing the ones you planned and tackle the Olympic distance next year!

Melissa said...

congrats!! That sounds like a lot of fun!

Anne said...

You've almost convinced me to try an indoor tri...almost. Best of luck bumping it up to the Oly in August.

Carolina John said...

Awesome job Stacey! rock on girl.

There is nothing wrong with doing a sprint one week and an oly the next. I did an oly and marathon on back to back weekends last year, and a sprint tri and century ride back to back this year. it's a fun mental challenge to focus on both distances.

Unknown said...

The indoor Tri looks great!! Way to go and what fun! Maybe that is what I should do first!

Holly said...

Congrats on your first triathlon of 2010! :)

Kristen said...

This sounds amazing!! I would love to try and indoor tri. I have looked around though and can't find any in the area.

You kicked butt and were only .2 away from your bike goal - I would consider that a success!! Congrats to your sister and friend on their first tris too.

Runner Leana said...

Congrats on your first tri of the year! Awesome job! If you really want to do two back to back I say go for it!