On Friday at the gym, after my workout, I noticed that they were holding the indoor triathlon on Saturday. The entires had already closed by one of my friends who works for intramurals told me to go ask if there were still any spots open. I went in and somehow signed up for the "recreational" division with a 10:30 am start.
I immediately headed to the bike shop where S was at work and told him. He turned around and asked if he could have 2 hours off the next morning to come watch and she said with a huge smile on her face "If its important".
The distances were:
- 450 Meter swim (9 laps in a 25 m lane)
- 8 Mile bike (on the worst stationary bike ever! Huge seat)
- 2 Mile run (22 laps around the tiny indoor track)
The gym opened at 10am so I only had 30 min to set up. At breakfast S made a new playlist for me on my iPod and I went to work with him to get a cycling jersey to carry my iPod and GU in. S rode his bike over from the shop a few min before the start time and I was so excited to have him there. My friend L that works intramurals was working the triathalon and everyone was really nice.
On the swim I started a little to fast with no warm up. I tried to keep pace with the guy next to me and after 1.5 laps it became obvious that I could not keep it up. I had to stop and tread water for a min to catch my breath. But then I slowed down a bit and breathed a lot more often and it wasn't that hard, just wore me out pretty good. I looked like a fool trying to get out when I was done. Oh- and I was the last one out in my group of 4. I think I was still only in the pool for around 7 minuets.
On to the bike! They only guy in my group got out of the pool a little before me and was still putting on his shoes when I got to mine. He sat down to do it- rookie mistake (I know I am a rookie- but at least I have read the books!). I beat him onto the bike by a few seconds. I was pretty bummed we were using the exersize bikes instead of the spin bikes. The seats were so huge that I sat on the front just so my legs could move freely! I at a pack of GU (mint chocolate- um!) after about a mile on the bike. I put my iPod on and just zoned out and kept my cadence up. S and L brought me new water bottles and keep to motivated. When I got off after 28 minuets everyone was cheering as I ran up the stairs to the track on the 3rd floor.
Running up the stairs was not as hard as I thought it would be. It was just like being on the bike! I was the only one in my group to run up the stairs. They laughed because they said I was "bouncing" up them. Then started the 22 laps. I just turned my music up loud, laughed at the songs S had chosen and gave a big smile every time I passed my counter and S. I know I ran pretty darn slow, but I didn't walk at all! That was my biggest accomplishment. The day before I had not been able to run 1.5 miles! I think having people cheering was the biggest motivation. The counter would tell me how many I had done when I came around and I would just calculate fractions. I don't even remember the first 4 but at lap 5 I was like- almost a quarter of the way done! Then, 2 laps later at lap 7 I was almost a third of the way done! At 11 I remeber being like "only half way!" and getting a little stressed, but at 14 I was two-thirds of the way done! At 18 I knew I had done it and started to get really excited. On the last lap I picked up the pace and zoomed around to the home stretch where S was standing and L was there counting my total time. They cheered and I sprinted to the finish. S and I then walked 2 laps and laughed and I almost cried.
It was an amazing feeling that I am so much more motivated to work towards now. My sister-in-law G and I laugh that working out is our Crack- we are hopelessly addicted and cranky if we don't get some. (Not like I know what doing crack is like, just a silly joke).
Best of all- it was all FREE! S took about 1.5 hours off of work ($12) but is going to be putting in some extra time this week. We already had my shoes, the GU and all the water bottles anyone could ever want. I did by the jersy for $30 at the shop (regularly $60 before S's discount) and lunch by myself as a congratulations (soup, I was so hungry!)- $5.
Well worth it, so much fun. I have a lot more confidence in myself now. Looking forward to todays workout!
2 comments:
Wow! That's great. I had no idea there was such a thing as a mini triathalon. Very cool idea. Good luck with your training. I wish I had some of your energy!
Oh my goodness, I'm tired just reading this! Good job, that is a really impressive accomplishment. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
www.diaryof1.com
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