Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Fitness World West Indoor Triathlon Report

When I got the urge to swim last month and did a few workouts, I started to think that maybe someday I could do a triathlon. But, I don't really have the right bike gear and frankly I'm a little nervous about training on the roads. I thought it was probably in the distant future. Then Amy heard about an indoor tri on the race schedule and things changed in a hurry. I got excited and decided it would be fun and at .25m swim / 10 mile bike / 3 mile run I figured I could finish, it was just a matter of whether I'd be running, walking or crawling. :D

This race to benefit St. Jude's Hospital is running all week. You just sign up for a time and get assigned a trainer to count laps and keep time. I took a few pics but don't have them available yet.

Amy and I met up in the parking lot and talked about our craziness and excitement. After a few instructions we laid out our gear in the locker room. This tri was pretty lax about transitions so we could come in and change after the swim and just meet at the bikes. We took a headshot pic of us (bathroom shot for Marcy). I wear lots of lipstick for these types of events, keep your eyes on my face please (yeah, the racing suit is from another decade!). Turns out Amy uses red fingernail polish in much the same way. Great minds....

We hit the swim for 10 laps, I felt pretty good for about 4 or 5 and then Amy pulled away from me a bit. We still finished strong (my time was 8:00 ~ .25 mile) and Trainer Guy said he hadn't seen times that good yet. YIPPEE.

Amy had warned me about an interesting twist to the bike ~ they intended to have us start at level 6 and go UP 2 levels EVERY TWO MILES. omg.omg.omg.omg.omg. I told Trainer Guy I would likely be crying by the end. Has anyone ever tried this? Holy Torturous Trainers, Batman, that was BRUTAL. Despite Amy's lobbying, we ended at Level 14 for the last 2 miles. I mostly kept the RPMS in the 90's early on but that slipped away some in the late miles. Again, Amy pulled away from me a bit. Those last two miles were dang hard and I was proud to just finish. 10 miles ~ 37:46. I really wasn't sure I could run after that but Trainer Guy gave us a bit of a stretch break.

The run started out F.A.S.T. Amy asked me if it felt fast and I said I had no idea. I couldn't feel my legs!! :D It wasn't that bad, it just feels weird. We rocked out mile 1 in something like 10:10 and about both fainted. Amy thought our first .5 m was probably a pace in the 9's!! We were so elated that this carried us on. We were running and cheering at our splits and averting our eyes a lot from all those mirrors (oh man, I need to hit the diet again, and hard). I thought this would be much worse but suprisingly we just kept going.

I've never run this fast in my life so obviously I'm thrilled. (30:30 - 3 miles) Thrilled with the time, thrilled with the finish of my first Tri (both standing and running!), thrilled with the company, too. Amy was really a great partner (I'm sure she felt like she had on a tow rope at times). Very encouraging and positive and just what I needed to keep going.

We also did a little bit extra since we had a timer for an official event, to get a 5k time for the Shave Your 5k. I totally smashed my PR (OMG!OMG!) not so bright strategy, but who cares?

(Nancy and Amy, finished - with hard earned t-shirts. Pic borrowed from Amy)

Thoughts ~


  • No problem at all finishing YAY :D I was going to make out a will and leave all my earthly blogging blatherings to Scott, but turns out I didn't need to. Sorry, Scott, maybe next time.

  • The bike was brutal at the end but also, I'm guessing not typical, and I made it through.

  • I haven't biked or swam much so I'm sure improvement can be found.

  • I am capable of improving my running pace. Whoa.

  • If I had that many mirrors around all the time, I would never eat.

  • Level 14 at the end of a bike ride suuuuucks

  • I now tell strangers I ROCK. See Amy's post for explanation.

  • I cheer and scream like a kid when I hear 10:10 and it is about me

  • I.Like.Tri !

63 comments:

Wes said...

We bask in your awesomeness :-) I totally hear you on the bike outside thing. I'm thinking I need to rethink my on the road strategy....

When's the first outdoor tri?!?

Viv said...

YAA NANCY!! I am so impressed by your whole performance! So amazing, I laughed so hard with the extra red lipstick..hahaha! You do rock, see even that guy on the track knew. I am so excited like it was my own tri...hahaha

Midwest said...

Way to go, Nancy! You should be so proud of yourself. More tri's for you in the future?

chia said...

w00t! Super job! Sounds like so much fun!

Margo said...

Great job!

Sarah Kathryn said...

That is SO awesome, Nancy! I am so impressed - your times were GREAT!!!!!! Wow!

The red lipstick -- LOL!!!!

Congratulations again and and again - you have much to be proud of!!

J~Mom said...

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!!!!!! I can't wait to hear what is next!

Jamie said...

You do ROCK! Sounds like an incredible indoor race. I think that bike would have killed me. Way to go!!! It sounds like you may like this tri thing =)

Nitmos said...

Congratulations. The first of many to come? Perhaps after the next race, Amy will allow you to wear the race shirt?

Nice job!

Nat said...

You are so totally awesome. :) You guys rocked this thing.

so where do you put your club during the swim?

Kent said...

Awesome job! I loved your race report.

Robert Barker said...

Awesome job on your Tri. Way to rock the run.

Jeff said...

Way to go, Nancy. You rocked that course. Guess you'll be changing your blog to "Notes of a Non-Trathlete" or something like that, huh.

Andrew is getting fit said...

Awesome results! I really like the idea of an indoor triathlon. I must try and find one.

David H. said...

Like you said last week - YOU ROCK!

Bev said...

Great post Nancy!

Jess said...

Congrats on the awesome finish! You totally rocked it! I would have died at Level 14 on the bike! Nice job!

E said...

Awesome job! When is your next tri?

Greg Johnson said...

Congrats! Nancy. You are an inspiration.

gaj

Bill Carter said...

Hi Nancy

It sounds like you not only rocked the tri, but had a great time doing it. I have the utmost respect for anybody who does a triathalon.

BTW, just the way you write your posts has me cracking up laughing. I'm looking forward to seeing what this kind of crosstraining does for your running... it is supposed to make a huge difference.

At the risk of getting in trouble with the hubbys, you and Amy are too cute.

Laura said...

That sounds like you had a fabulous time! Congratulations!!! I can't wait to hear about your next tri now that you seem to have caught the bug.

Andria said...

You do totally rock!!! Sounds like you had a really fun time and that you did really well. We are all so proud of you.

So when's the next one?

Single said...

I loved the stuff with the lipstick--I did that for my first half-marathon. And now is the perfect time to start training for an outdoor race.

Cranky

Lily on the Road said...

Nancy, Wooo Hooo girl! You did an great job and had such a fun time with Amy....WOOOT!

Could be just the beginning! I love the lipstick aspect...let alone the nail polish, I'm all about that!

Good for YOU!

RunnerGirl said...

Your are amazing!

Marcy said...

OMFG NANCY!!! YOU SOOOOOOO ROCK!! You ARE such an inspiration to all of us. Dang girl, don't go tri crazy on me now ;-) CONGRATS!! ;D ;D

Mendy said...

You continue to amaze me! You're awesome and I can't imagine how well you'll do with some training! Great job!!!!!!!!!!!

J said...

OMG! OMG! I knew you rocked, didn't I say that last week? Yes, I love being right.

You did so awesome!! First, I was totally impressed by your swim time, then you go on and impress me some more with that tough bike ride. Then, you completely KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF with that run! What prize did you get for that? (Oh, and if they forgot to give you a prize for the running PR, feel free to head to the mall and pick one out for yourself.) Way to go!

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Soooooo Awesome Nanc.... You Ladies Rocked it out!! Well DOne!

akshaye said...

Haha Nancy.. You do ROCK! I bet he was surprised. Congrats on the tri!

Jess said...

That is impressive Nancy! Soon, everyone will be wearing lipstick to race events to try and be like you!

Unknown said...

Most excellent.

I have never done an indoor tri. It sounds interesting...

Sam said...

Great job! Now on to the next one.

P.O.M. said...

This might be a duplicate becuase computer being crazy.

You totally kicked butt and that sounds like so much fun (kinda, minus the exercising party).

I always wear lots of mascara at races so people look at my EYES and not my THIGHS!

Gotta Run..... said...

You rock it girl!!! Another Tri girl is born :)

Welcome to another sport to become mad about. It is a good thing so jump on in!!

Love the idea of an inside tri. Really opens it up to more people.

ws said...

awesome report Nancy. sometimes it is easier to run when you can't feel your legs...

heading for the outdoor tri next?

Bob A said...

Great report, Nancy. And, you really tried hard -- extra nice time on your run.

Bob

The Laminator said...

You do totally rock...yeah, I know you do. Sounds like you had so much fun doing it too. Congrats. Can't wait for your first outdoor tri.

Michelle said...

Shoot, I thought I posted something here already!!

Anyway, way to kill it at your first tri!!! Woo hoo!!

So, when's your next one?? ;-)

Vickie said...

Nancy, fantastic job! See, there is your potential. As for running after the bike, the first mile is always the same--no legs. But you overcame that and finished strong! Welcome to the club!

RunToTheFinish said...

You are crazy and amazing! Wasn't it like yesterday you decided to try one of these and here you are finishing!!

Laura N said...

Great job! I can't imagine running after all that. You did so well. Very proud of you!

Marathoner in Training said...

Great race report, you totally rocked. I would not have been able to swim that fast, yet alone the bike stuff. As for the will, did you leave the trip to europe to me? Hint, hint.

Sunshine said...

For a "Non-runner" you are something else!!!

Still snowing here.. another 5 inches today.

Sherry said...

Yay! Yay! Yay! I'm so excited for you! You totally rocked your first tri AND you 5K PR was certainly icing on the cake! So, are you ready to do another??

Have a wonderful weekend!

sRod said...

Sweet Tri! That's sounds like a tri I could do!

Neese said...

way to go!!

Scott McMurtrey said...

hee hee. okay, i'm just a bit disappointed that it was so easy for you. ;)

kate said...

Great race report Nancy and awesome job out there. You girls ROCK!

Michelle said...

Nancy i am so proud of you that your rocked this TRI! Today i ran a 10.29 mile and Nancy i thought i was running a 9 min pace! How crazy is that? I actually felt like i was running faster than i really was! It felt good though!!!
Michelle

Sarah said...

That is so awesome!! Congrats!

jahowie said...

Congrats!!! Are you hooked on the tri thing now?

Nibbles said...

Cheers to you for surviving that bike leg! It sounds just awful. At Level 14, I think my legs would fall off at the patellar tendon and just go bury themselves. You are amazing.

nwgdc said...

wow! to finish fresher than you started is a great accomplishment, although I agree with you, the bike's increasing intensity is a little mean!
congrats!

Sonia said...

YOU ROCKED IT!! And smashing your 5K PB after swimming and biking!!! WOW Impressive Nancy!! Congratulations! Hope you're still on your high from the race!!

Is it normal I couldn'T see the bathroom pic? (not that I'm into that.... ;-))

Patty said...

WOW~! YOU are my super star.

Congratulations! YOU ROCK!

Database Diva said...

Congratulations Nancy & Amy. The indoor tri sounds like fun, and probably the only way I would ever attempt one. Congratulations on the smokin' 5k time!

Unknown said...

Awesome job and great race report!

Kaeti said...

Nancy — You guys definitely have me thinking about biting the bullet and going for this whole tri thing! It'll be hard to live up to this, though. You totally kicked butt!

-Kaeti

Nitmos said...

Just checking in...saw 59 comments and wanted to round it off to an even 60. So, here is the 60th comment!

Stef0115 said...

Wow! Just dropped over from Wes' blog.

MAGNIFICENT first tri! If that doesn't get you hooked . . . . :-)

Congratulations!!

Stuart said...

YOU ROCK!

Frayed Laces said...

Finally catching up on my blog reading---AWESOME! What a great report, and congrats on your first tri! I hope I have a similar outcome for my first!