My First 'Triathlon'

'Triathlon' in quotation marks because it was all indoors and transition time didn't count. But it was three workouts in a day, so I'll count it as my first triathlon.

Tatted up.

My favorite running store Jack Rabbit puts on an Indoor Triathlon series over the winter to help serious triathletes stay in shape and to help non-serious athletes, like me, see what it's like to do a triathlon. The triathlon consists of 10 minutes of swimming, 30 minutes of biking, and 20 minutes of running. The goal is to go the furthest distance in each sport. Participants are scored on a curve for each sport- the person who goes the furthest gets a score of 100, and shortest distance gets a 1, and everyone else falls into the range.

I was a little nervous going into the race... for a variety of reasons. First, the swim. I got GREAT at swimming last summer when it was all I could do, but since then, I've fallen off the wagon. I think swimming is the hardest part about a triathlon, and it's the first event. And second, the run. I'm still pretty cautious (and still in physical therapy) about my running abilities, and I didn't want to risk refracturing my pelvis for a 'race' I wasn't serious about.

Gulp.

So here goes-- it was a such a fun time! Everything went much, much better than expected. First up, the swim. It was super tough, especially since the girl next to me (who would end up winning the entire thing) was completely smoking me. So I just focused on keeping my breathing calm and my mind determined to hit my goal: 20 laps. I ended up finishing 21 laps, so I was thrilled. But note to self: increase upper body strength. My arms were dying by the end! I ended up tying for 4th place for swimming the most laps.

Next up, the bike. My least favorite part. Since the goal is to go as far as possible, the strategy is to set the resistance as low as possible and just let it roll. For 30 minutes. Boring as all get out. I started out conservatively, humming along, and thought I was doing pretty well until I noticed the girl beside me cranking it out at over 10mph faster than me... so I kicked it up to match her speed. Boring, but 'easy' compared to the swim. I ended up placing 3rd for the biking portion with 16.31 miles.

And finally, the run. Where I learned I'm much stronger than I think I am, and am still kicking myself for not pushing myself more than I did. I started out at 6.0, and then played around with bumping up the speed every 2 minutes, followed by a minute recovery. But when I hit minute 12 and was cruising at 6.5, I started to psych myself out and pulled back... only to realize at minute 16 that no, I didn't feel any pain, and no, I wasn't doing my best. With only 4 minutes left in the run, I didn't have a lot of time to make any drastic change in my distance. I was aiming for 2.2 miles, but ended up with 2.14. Not thrilled at all, especially because it was a confidence issue, not an injury issue, that held me back.

On a side note... I think it's stupid when bloggers blur out their last name but post their bib number. So here's my last name in all it's glory.

I ended up placing 4th overall. Not having a 1st place finish in any of the three events really killed me-- I had a better swim and cycle score than the girl who finished 3rd place, but because she got a perfect 100 for her run score, her overall score got boosted something crazy. BOO! I'm not going to dwell on who's the better athlete, but it's kind of disappointing. Something to chase next time...

Running In The Snow

Since the streets looked like a slushie on Saturday, I opted to stay fall free and do my long run on the treadmill.

Yeah, not really into face planting.

Woof. I was supposed to run 12 miles, but after an hour and 6.75 miles (every 10 minutes I did a 'fartlek' at 7.5 for 2 minutes), I had to get off and regroup. I made it 30 more minutes for a total of ~10.2 before quitting - no amount of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the Kardashians were going to get me through another 2 miles.

I know conversion charts show running on the treadmill equivalent to about 30 seconds slower on the road, but it's the opposite for me. I ran at 6.3 MPH with 0% incline (no way I was going to even 0.5%), which translates to 9:31 mile on the treadmill and 9:56 mile on the road.

(from Hungry Runner Girl, who runs like at a 9.1 while holding a baby)

I can maintain an 8:40 pace outside with (relatively) no problem, but ask me to run faster than a 9:30 pace on the treadmill, and I'm dying. I find it so HARD to run on the treadmill- mentally and physically. I'd rather run up Cat Hill or tackle the Queensboro Bridge any day- at least the scenery changes! I find treadmill runs demoralizing and defeating- I really hope the slush is gone before my next run on Tuesday!

On Friday I did tackle the snow and run outside-- I turned to Twitter to ask Jack Rabbit for advice.

@nyc_allie Go slow, don't over-stride, wear good quality winter running clothing. Fresh snow can actually be fun. Ice is a different story.
— JackRabbit Sports (@JackRabbitNYC) February 7, 2013

The snow was just starting to stick (so it may not count as 'running in the snow'), but the road was more than a bit slick in places. I took it slow over any patches that looked a bit ominous, and ended up having a great 5 mile run! Now hopefully next week's 1/2 marathon will be like the 5 mile run and NOT the treadmill run this week!

Just a tad wet.

Week In Review:

Sunday: Yoga
Monday & Tuesday: Rest Days
Wednesday: 4x400's on the Dreadmill (8.2 MPH with 6.3MPH for warm-up and 6.4MPH for rests in between 400s)
Thursday: ~6 miles in Central Park
Friday: 5 miles along the East River
Saturday: ~10 miles on the Treadmill

Total Miles: 24.8

Give Thanks

This is what old looks like...

27 candles. Yikes! My birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, so lots to be thankful for on November 22nd! The only thing that was missing was my (twin) sister, who is currently working in Australia- and will be for the next year! (secret- I want to be just like her when I grow up)

Birthday/Thanksgiving was a relaxed day- Mom and I went on a 2 mile run, we sat in front of the fire all day, and drank/ate ourselves silly on Turkey, stuffing, and pecan pie. Plus, Jason was here so I got to introduce him to all of my family traditions!

And today my Dad and brother introduced Jason to another tradition- skeet shooting. Girls weren't allowed, so Mom and I headed to the gym to sweat off some of Thanksgiving Dinner. My hamstring is giving me a little bit of trouble, so I decided to walk on the treadmill and just run 1 mile to see how it felt. Yowza. Lots of ice and stretching followed. I'm going to keep taking it easy with running, and my brother got me yoga classes for my birthday, so I'm going to go on Sunday in the hopes of stretching it out.

I signed up for Jack Rabbit's 'Not Someday... Today!' program this morning. You fill out your long term goal for 2013 (NYC Marathon), and then a short term goal month by month, starting with January. My short term goals for January is to run 20 miles a week and attend at least one group run, by Jack Rabbit or Lululemon. 

What are your 2013 goals?

Run Stats: November 22nd, 2 miles in 19:54; November 23rd: 40 minutes at 4.0 on the treadmill, various intervals, 1 mile run at 9:45 pace.