Well, that was an awesome way to end 2013!

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I signed up for this race three weeks ago, and I had grand plans of really stepping up my swimming to prepare. But, alas, that nagging chest injury from the Half Ironman flared up again, so I swam twice and stopped.  I crossed my fingers that I wouldn’t be sore on race day (and that I wouldn’t make my injury worse by racing!).  I woke up feeling great, so I was determined to go all out despite the lack of swim training…

 

I ended up signing up for the Advanced course, which was:

 

600 yards pool swim

10 mile spin bike ride

3 mile treadmill run

 

My friend Brandi did the race with me.  I don’t think the race would’ve been half as fun without her.

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The race was small but well-organized. We waited until our wave and got into our lanes. The volunteer told me that she’d count my laps for me _ WAHOO. I can never remember what lap I’m on. Smile

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Note to self:

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600 yards went by pretty quickly.  I could definitely tell I wasn’t in great shape but it wasn’t too terrible. It’s nice when cardiovascular fitness crosses sports!  I finished in 12:07.

 

The best thing about this race was transitions weren’t timed!  How sweet is that?  Brandi and I took our time changing and refueling.

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And then it was time to bike.

 

The rules said the bike had to be set on 8 resistance (or higher, if you wanted).  That’s pretty low – my legs were spinning like crazy. I didn’t want to up the resistance too much because I wanted to go as fast as possible.

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The RPM was up at 115 – 120 the entire time – woah woah woah.  I finished the 10 miles in 17:45.  I wish I could do that on the open road!  That would be nice. Smile 

 

I stretched out after the bike and then Brandi and I walked over to the treadmills.

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(There was also a family division – so cute!)

 

The run was actually the hardest part.  My legs were tired but not TOO tired – the problem was that it’s difficult to pace for the fastest race on the treadmill.  I kept wanting to inch the speed faster, but then I’d pull back.  The entire three miles was a balance between too fast and not fast enough.  But I finished in 28:12.

 

Grand totals:

 

600 yard swim – 12:07

10 mile bike – 17:45

3 mile run: 28:12

Total: 58:04

 

Not too shabby, right?  I had a lot of fun.  I’ve really been focusing on running lately, but this race reminded me how much I love triathlons, especially shorter ones.  I have my fingers crossed that my injury is fully healed – it doesn’t hurt so far… – but I guess time will tell.  There’s another indoor triathlon at another YMCA in February – I’d love to be able to participate!  These indoor tris will get me through this yucky winter and have me better prepared for spring tri season.

 

What was your last workout of 2013?

{ 26 comments }

 

  • Sara @ LovingOnTheRun December 31, 2013, 11:44 am

    Our gym does something like this ever year but I have never participated! This looks like such a great experience! Great job!

  • Katie December 31, 2013, 12:04 pm

    Nice work!! The triathlon group I follow on facebook is contemplating an event like this, I hope once its planned I can participate!

  • Tania December 31, 2013, 12:04 pm

    You did great.
    My last workout was today too, but I wasnt that good :). I am just starting training again after almost a year rest and its hard. I did 3 km. for 30 minutes…really bad, even for me, but you got to start from somewhere.
    Have a happy and warm welcoming of the new year 🙂

  • Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs December 31, 2013, 1:18 pm

    What a fun race! Congrats 🙂

  • Maureen December 31, 2013, 1:27 pm

    What happened during the half IM? I didn’t realize you’d suffered an injury; must have missed that!

    • Caitlin December 31, 2013, 2:12 pm

      Nothing happened during the race. About a month after my right chest muscle started to hurt and then after the race it was really uncomfortable.

  • Mary (A Merry Life) December 31, 2013, 1:38 pm

    Good job! I think I’d like to try and indoor tri like this. I hate the open water swimming part of regular triathlons so this would be a great alternative.

  • Sara December 31, 2013, 2:05 pm

    Have you seem the video shared on The House of Smiths today? Reminded me of all of your positivity!

    http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2013/12/shhhh-utting-it-down-this-year-stopping.html

  • Abi@AbsofSteel December 31, 2013, 2:12 pm

    nice job on you indoor tri, even for indoors that’s a crazy fast bike time! My last workout was a fun total body strength circuit

  • Victoria December 31, 2013, 3:47 pm

    Congrats, great way to wrap up 2013!

  • Kelsey @ Ramblings of Change December 31, 2013, 4:51 pm

    Congrats! That is so awesome! I’m glad I am “ending” 2013 with a workout as well. At my CrossFit box, we did a WOD that had the months + their amount of days (28, 30 & 31) for different exercises…so there were 12 different exercises! It was great! And I got to end it with a great group of friends from the gym!

  • Stacie December 31, 2013, 6:25 pm

    My Y does the indoor triathlons too. They look so fun!

  • Jenn December 31, 2013, 6:26 pm

    Great job! My kiddos did the same Tri this morning. Great way to end 2013! Happy New Year.

  • claire December 31, 2013, 6:53 pm

    25 km run, felt great.

  • Corrie Anne December 31, 2013, 11:34 pm

    Indoor tris always look so fun. I’m not really a swimmer at all though. My last workout was 20 minutes — as many rounds as possible — 400m run, 14 wall balls w/14# ball, and 1 body drag. I made it through 5 rounds. 🙂

  • Kathy December 31, 2013, 11:50 pm

    Nice job! I did a chilly -20 Resolution Run..lots of fun and the one day a year its ok (even mandatory) to refuel with wine! Happy New Year

  • Runner Girl Eats January 1, 2014, 7:50 am

    Congrats! I would have such a hard time focusing on an indoor race but you did great. My last workout was a strength training session. I will be sore well into 2014 😉

  • Laura @ SneakersandSpatulas January 1, 2014, 10:18 am

    Did you win? Looks like your medal says “1st”

    • Caitlin January 1, 2014, 10:50 am

      There was only one person in my age division 🙂 Me.

  • Catherine @ A Two Storey Home January 1, 2014, 10:49 am

    What a cool idea! My last workout of 2013 was a walk plus a weight lifting session in the living room 🙂 I’m getting ready to go for a run as my first workout of 2014!

    The sign at the Y is hilarious; I life-guarded at a camp for a few summers in college, and for whatever reason kids love to go underwater just to see how long they can hold their breath. As a lifeguard, however, you see this kid face-down or bobbing just under the surface and think, “Is she drowning or playing?? Drowning or playing??” Their response is always, “I just wanted to see how long I could hold my breath.” So, I get the sign, and it’s pretty funny 😀

    Happy New Year!

  • Megan January 1, 2014, 12:18 pm

    Nice job! I did an indoor triathlon a few weeks ago , and it inspired me to do an outside one. So my last workout was a spin class to get me ready for more biking!

  • Kerry January 1, 2014, 12:59 pm

    Congrats! Nice job on the 1st place medal, too 🙂

    My last workout was a sunny 4-miler loop on the river by my house during a gorgeous sunset. So fun to see everyone out walking and running in the last daylight of 2013!

    I hope to finish my first triathlon this year… I would LOVE to do one that is in a gym just to see how it feels.

  • jen January 1, 2014, 1:06 pm

    Wait…you needed to stretch and refuel after 12 minutes? And of course you set your resistance to minimum.

  • Amanda January 1, 2014, 1:17 pm

    The sign about not holding your breath may seem silly, but my husband’s cousin actually died last spring (in a public pool) while doing some under water breath training in preparation for military service. Not really something to scoff about.

    • Caitlin January 1, 2014, 3:59 pm

      oh no! how scary! i’m sorry to hear about your cousin in law.

  • Cathy January 19, 2014, 5:00 pm

    Way to go! I really want to do an indoor triathlon, but am having a hard time finding some locally. Maybe I’ll have to do a half indoor half outdoor one for the first one 🙂

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