When we got to the pool, there was one other person there and I did a few lengths to warm up. I was ready to say lets not do this - it was stupid to do a tri by myself, but I realized all tris are on your own. Time to suck it up buttercup! When I couldn't delay any longer, Dave started the clock and I was off. I went out too fast, but was able to settle in after a few laps - probably because I was getting tired! When I did my first indoor tri in February 2013, I finished 18 lengths during the swim and that included running a little bit. Before I separated my shoulder, my goal was to swim 20 lengths - all freestyle & no running in the pool. With the additional time to train, I moved that number to 22-23. I ended up finishing 23 lengths which made me really happy.
After the swim, I had ten minutes to change and get to the bike. Since I had my own music, Dave suggested we use the studio so he could put my music on the speakers. When I got there, he had set up my bike in my usual spot - front and center. After a few spins on the bike, we started the clock. I have been riding three times a week since January, so I knew I would be able to do well on the bike portion. My goal was 10 miles and I really wanted to hit 10-1/2 miles. The night before I had thought about trying to hold 22 mph or more for the entire 30 minutes. My legs felt good and I was able to maintain a steady pace. I hadn't been looking forward to the bike because I thought it would be difficult to focus on riding at a steady pace when there was no one else riding. Turns out it was pretty easy and very similar to riding outside in the tris I have done. I almost think that I liked it more than the previous one I did because I wasn't competing with anyone but myself. As the 30 minutes came to an end, the mileage showed 11.1 miles. I was thrilled! I followed the plan and met my 2nd goal for the tri.
Now it was time for the run. 20 minutes on the treadmill was all that I needed to do. In 2013, I went 1.53 miles. My goal was 2.25 miles and my stretch goal was 2.3 miles. I cranked up the music and started to run. I didn't want to start out too fast and wasn't sure how my legs would feel transitioning from the bike. Sure enough about 2 minutes in, both calves cramped up. I thought to myself that I should have taken 2 salt caps instead of just one. But it was too late to worry about that, so I drank some water with nuun and hoped for the best. After another few minutes, the cramps subsided and I was in a good zone and kept on running. I was sticking to my plan and was increasing the speed every minute or two. With 90 seconds left, I was running close to 8 mph which in my book is really, stinking fast! When the time was up, I had gone 2.27 miles!
I am so proud of myself for sticking with the training and for doing the tri on my own with Dave there to cheer me on. A year ago, I would have quit and said it wasn't meant to be. Now I am focused and I crushed my goals. If you have thought you could never do a tri - you can! Challenge yourself and believe that you can do it. Set goals - they push you to achieve what you thought was impossible. I don't know what will happen next for me, but I am excited to be on this adventure. It has been incredible so far!
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