Center for Fitness and Health Indoor Triathlon - Sprint

Center for Fitness and Health Indoor Triathlon was my second indoor triathlon this year. I had a few goals going into this race that I wanted to accomplish:

NOT panic during the swim, while swimming freestyle; breathe every three strokes; and focus on using my arms throughout the entire stroke
Remember this is a “C” race - in other words it’s used for training purposes
I’m not practicing transitions, but rather ensuring I can keep my established pace during each discipline and feel good the entire time

Swim

What I’ve Learned Since My Last Triathlon

Since my last indoor tri, I took the time to think about why I panicked to ensure it wasn’t going to happen again. I tried to mimic my feelings to potentially determine the cause and come up with a resolution. I think I figured it out.

In all the times I have been in athletics; I have been able to rely on the strength and flexibility of my legs; I was doing this with swimming too. This was my problem. Like any race or competition I ever been in - even if I didn’t want to really compete, but train instead - I would have anxiety.

My heart rate would rise, and I would start out faster than I wanted, and back down knowing that the anxiety got the best of me, again. In running races, I’m usually able to feel that I start out fast almost immediately, and tame myself pretty quickly. Swimming, I didn’t know what my problem was to calm myself down. Until I really focused on it.

At the beginning of each swimming practice for the last month I would start like normal and soon realized that I had anxiety, and it wasn’t until I swam about 300m (12 lengths of the pool) it would go away. That would never work in a short race. I had to get it figured out in the first 25m (1 length of the pool). I started doing a few things differently. I added in the dolphin kick after each turn - especially since I don’t do flip turns (they make me too dizzy). This allows me to stay as streamlined as possible for longer and use my core for a longer period of time. I also started kicking easier while keeping my core, buttocks, and legs strong and straight. I still can’t do this perfectly all of the time, but it’s much better. I started noticing a considerable difference with each practice. Then I made sure to really focus on pulling more and more water with my arms. The last thing I need to really get is breathing while keeping the majority of my head in the water; I’ve been working on it, but still can’t do it.

Applying My New Found Knowledge

There wasn’t a chance to warm up, which I was hoping, but I wasn’t going to let that interfere with anything. I jumped in the pool when it was time. There were six swimmers racing - no lanes marked, because the pool is set up for four lanes. The timers counted down from 10 seconds to the start. When they told us to go, I turned on my Garmin and pushed away from the wall. I swam underwater in a streamlined, dolphin kick position until halfway through the first length of the pool. When I emerged from the water I began my swim. I could see I was already ahead of most of the swimmers, and only one person was with me - the only male in my group. But since I wasn’t really racing against anyone else, I wasn’t concerned about anyone else. I began swimming freestyle. Breathing every three strokes, keeping a tight, solid core-to-toe easy kick, and using a full arm stroke - pulling the water as hard as I could. Before I realized it, I was done with the first 100m. Wow, that was easy, and no panicking.

I kept my breathing consistent throughout the entire swim - every three strokes. Since I could tell I was kicking and pulling the water the way I wanted, I decided to focus on my breathing and try to keep one goggle in the water (most of my head) so that I kept my body balanced while I swam. This was a training session after all. I managed to do it, but not consistently it. I could tell when I wasn’t thinking about it, I was raising my head out of the water to get a full breath of air.

Even though my breathing wasn’t a huge success, I will say that not panicking was. I was able to kick they way I wanted and pull the water to the fullest. I would say it was a successful swim for me. I was even surprised when I got out of the pool 20 seconds faster than the next person. I wasn’t racing anyone - it was me against last month me. And this month me won; as it should be.

Here are some stats from both indoor triathlons:

February 2020: 2:19 min/100m
vs
March 2020: 1:56 min/100m - 13 seconds less per 100m from my last triathlon, but still not my practice average.
(avg. is 1:45 min/100m)
February 2020: 85 swolf
vs
March 2020: 40 swolf

(for anyone who understands that - those who don’t, less is better, like golf.)

Bike

After swimming, I went to the locker room to change out of my bathing suit and into biking/running clothes. In an outdoor tri, I wouldn’t do that. But since it’s indoor, this is something I always do for comfort. This may have affected my overall time, according to the fitness club’s records, but I didn’t care, it was worth it - it wasn’t a real transition.

Prior to swimming, I had set up the Spinning bike I was going to cycle on. When I got upstairs to use it, the battery in the bike computer I set up had apparently died and a new bike took its place because someone was in the spot I planned on being. So I set up a different bike and began my next discipline.

I hadn’t been on a Spin bike like this in more than 15 years. (I can’t believe I had actually taught Spinning. YIKES) Anyway these bikes had computers that showed the cadence and distance. I wanted to keep my cadence between 90-100, closer to 100, the majority of the time. I didn’t know what my watts were. I knew I could adjust the tension on the bike, but it seemed when I did that it didn’t increase the distance any faster, so I just left it where it was. Otherwise, I would have cranked it up, and used it as a true training session like I do at home. (I also know that distance and time on Spin bikes are a little different than my smart trainer and the bike I use on the road, so I really didn’t know what to expect.)

I thought I was cooking. My legs felt strong; I kept my cadence high, and was going well above 100. I finished 8 miles in 19:40 minutes. I was okay with that - because that’s considered fast when I train on my bike. But apparently it wasn’t on a Spin bike.

So now I don’t know what was on the computer in front of me other than distance. I couldn’t use my Garmin to track anything because they didn’t sync. My legs could have definitely burned more, but I thought I was doing well. I don’t know if the computer wasn’t working right, or I was reading things wrong - probably the later. I’m a descent cyclist - and to think that I didn’t do well compared to the others in this race is very disheartening. Sure, it’s just training, and I need to remember that, but even when I’m training, I like to know that I’m pushing myself.

Sprinting to end the race.2 mi at 24:53 min — Sprinting to end the race.
2 mi at 24:53 min

Run

The run was the last event. I had to run 24 laps around an indoor track. I planned on running this slow. My training plan called for a 30 minute run in zone 1, so I planned to get kind of close and go slow.

The runners were tracked by a gentleman calling out the runners numbers and two women at a nearby table marking down how many laps each runner had completed. I had my Garmin on, but it wasn’t accurately tracking distance, only time. (Thank goodness.) I took my time on this run. I wanted to make sure I was comfortable the entire time. I wasn’t wearing a racing kit, but instead a t-shirt and spandex (that kept riding up - so annoying). I also had on large wireless headphones instead of earbuds. That was different, not good or bad, just different.

I started running - no cramping. I did forget to put in gum my mouth though; I need my gum because my mouth gets so dry. I swear I was spitting quarters the entire time, but I wasn’t going to use that as an excuse to walk. I hadn’t mentioned before, but I stupidly had a bit of alcohol to drink the night before. Oops. I know I shouldn’t, I was really in the mood, and I knew this was a short race, so I did. Not my best decision. I definitely felt slower than normal now. I made sure to take all of my supplements and lots of water to stay as hydrated as I could. I wasn’t going to let that be an excuse for walking either. It was only two miles. The weekend before I ran 10 miles! I knew I could crush this if I really wanted — but I also knew better.

So I just kept running. A few people ran past me - several times. I ran past a few people too. Either way, it was my race, no one else’s. Each time I got to where I started, I heard my number “131” being called out to indicate I completed another lap. After awhile, I was getting very bored. Fortunately, I learned that I only had six more laps to go, then three, then one. At that point, I sprinted the last lap. I know that I always have to finish strong. I want to make sure I show improvement, especially when I’m tired. I need to “embrace the suck.” So I did, and I made it to the end.

Not my best time, or my best effort for two miles, but I was okay with it. The fitness center only gave times of the swim, bike, and overall. I had my run time on my Garmin. It was very different than if I had subtracted my time from the overall time. I’m guessing the "transition” time was included. Since I took my time to change out of my bathing suit to my other clothes, and go to the cycling area, it looked like my average run time was over 17 minutes a mile, and I was one of the slowest people who competed that day. (Most people didn’t change like I did.)

The three events were over. I went to the locker room, changed my clothes, got my medal at the front desk and went home. There was no exciting conclusion, but the event was fun, great training, and another way to learn for the next one. But I will say, my body felt good; I was happy with my swim performance; and I’m happy that I achieved all of the goals I set out to achieve.

My next triathlon is outdoor, a longer distance, and will require a wetsuit. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be ready. In the meantime I’ll keep training, and doing foot races and tri clinics to prepare for my larger races. This year is going to be a wild ride!!

Heck, I’ll be blogging a lot this month, almost every weekend, and some weekends twice!! Make sure to come back and see what’s happening. And check me out on Instagram and Facebook for more regular updates!

Results

Swim: 500m (546yds) - 9:39 min (Pace: 1:56 min/100m)
Bike: 8 mi - 19:40 min (Pace: 24.4 mph)
Run: 2 mi at 24:53 min (Pace: 12.26 m/min)