Jackrabbit Sports Indoor Triathlon - TriathlonOther

Got a good start, and fell into a good rhythm. This was the first time I'd tried flip turns in a race. The pool had a mosaic bottom and very thin, pale lines, not the usual black wide lines like in most pools. When my goggles got a little foggy, it became really hard to see the lines or to pick up the ends of the lanes, so I missed my flips a couple of times--pulling up too short, or realizing I was too close and doing an open turn. The guy next to me was pretty fast and lapped me about 8 minutes in. I also didn't hear either the 5-minute or the one minute warning, so I was basically just swimming my ass off until I realized the guy next to me wasn't swimming anymore, then I stopped. In general, my stroke was ok.

More practice w/flip turns, more practice overall.

We had 15 minutes to transition to bikes (which were upstairs). Didn't rush, just made sure I had everything, loaded my bottles onto the bike, adjusted it. I think the mistake a lot of people make is that they adjust the bike as if they were riding a real bike, instead of just trying to spin for 30 minutes. I had the bars much closer than I normally would, and the seat was further forward and maybe a little higher. Not as much power, but then, I'm using almost 0 resistance. Also easier to breath w/this setup.

Nuthin.

If I have a "strength" in indoor tri's, it's this. I can spin really fast for an extended period of time. I had to use my running shoes, since there were no clipless pedals, so I just strapped in tight, cranked Mila's playlists which I had loaded onto my shuffle, and spun away. I was going noticeably faster than anyone else in the room, especially the guy from my swim heat. Hopefully, I made some points back that I lost on the swim. Took in a caffeinated gel with about 5 minutes to go. I had one bottle of accellerade that I drank about 3/4 of, and a bottle of water which I drank about half of.

Nothing really.

Went from spinbikes to treadmills. Stretched a little, refilled the bottles, and jumped on.

As soon as we got the go, I went right up to a 7:47 mile. I was pretty confident that I could hold it for 20 minutes. About 6 minutes in, my knee started to really hurt, so I tried to push through it. When it wasn't going away, I throttled down to about an 8:00 mile, but, since that didn't make it feel better either, I pushed it back up to 7:47, and figured I'd just suck it up. I could feel myself almost limping at one point, and had to really force myself not to reduce the speed. I started to get really hot, and started feeling my GI, which never happens to me in races. My HR was well over my LT, and my knee wasn't getting better, as it sometimes does after I run for a while. The last 10 minutes were a constant struggle to keep going at this pace. EVERYTHING was telling me to stop, or at least slow down. I made all kinds of justifications in my head, "just slow down for 30 seconds--it won't cost you that much in the end," and I'd talk myself into it, but, just as I was about to push the "down" arrow button, I forced myself to keep going. Over and over again. Finally, when they said "Three minutes", I knew that by the time the song on my ipod was over, I'd be done, and that was a huge lift. I cranked up to about a 7:00m for the last 1:30 or so, and pushed as hard as I could. Once they said stop, and I hit the "STOP" button, I almost fell off the back of the treadmill, I was so spent. My knee was really tight, and I was exhausted, but I was incredibly proud of myself for sticking to my pace and not giving up.

I can't really think of anything.

I was hammered after this event. I went and lay down in the stretch room and tried to loosen up my calves and legs. I finished my bottles.


Sore knee.


Jackrabbit puts on a good indoor tri series. It's well organized and well managed. I'll renew my complaint that I think it's a little expensive for what it is, but it's a good training barometer right before the season starts. Since this was my second year, it's cool to see the improvements I've made.