the end has no end

Well, the 2011 race season is officially over. Phew. 2012 should bring some good things, based on how well 2011 is ending. :)

I closed out the season with something a little different. The Tri To Help indoor triathlon for epilepsy. It was at a gym with an indoor pool outside of Baltimore. The indoor pool limited each heat to 8 participants (2 per lane). I appreciated this after the claustrophobia I had at the Hot Chocolate race last week! Over the course of the day there were 5-6 heats, and ultimately there was a total of 29 participants. The format was- 10 minutes of swim, 10 minute transition, 30 minutes of bike, 5 minute transition, 20 minutes of run. The person who got the highest number of laps/distance on the bike or treadmill got 100 points, everyone else got a percentage of that based on their performance, and rankings were based on total points. Sounded simple enough, but I still didn't really know how this was all going to work. There seemed to be a good mix of experienced triathletes, first timers, and 'I'm just here for the exercise' types. I definitely skewed towards the more experienced side of things though.


Women's specific shirts with cute logo- santa hats on the stick figures!

I got there mad early to check in and set up 'transition'- actually just a locker in the women's locker room. (I wish I had thought to take a picture- it was kind of amusing) The first wave started at 8:00, I was scheduled for 8:40, and my coworker and his friends were scheduled for 9:20. Even after setting up and having something to eat it was still early enough to see the first wave start, and got pulled in by the race director to help count laps (or lengths, I guess). I got a good sense of the competition from that. :)

Coworker Jim and his crew made it just before I was scheduled to start. For having not been in the pool for months before last Wednesday (and predictably, pulling my right upper trap in the process, AGAIN) I was pretty calm beforehand. I was just happy trying to maintain a constant speed while checking my form. Jim was amused that at the countdown of 5..4..3..2..1 to mark the end of 10 minutes, my hand hit the wall exactly on time. (only full laps counted). I want to say I planned it that way :) I still have only two speeds, apparently, 'slow' and 'sink'. But I can't complain given that I did zero work to prepare. I also never did get around to learning flip turns like I had planned, but I like to think that my pushoffs were good anyway. One small victory for this section.

A mandated 10 minute transition is weird. Knowing this going in, I planned to make a full wardrobe change from swimsuit to tri shorts and a tank top at T1. I dried off, changed, grabbed a bottle of water and made my way out to the spin bikes. Even with having to make adjustments to the fit of the bike, I still had time left over to stretch, chat with the other people in my wave, etc. Not at all normal!

I felt the strongest on the bike. My goal was to reach 10 mi in 30 mins- or a better than 20mph average. In my head, I was racing the flat loops of Haines Point. During the practice tris there last summer I was never able to break 17mph, and always got frustrated that so many people were able to pass me. I was able to maintain that speed here. Because the bikes had meters on them, but they weren't attached to the resistance of the bike, it was beneficial in this case to leave the resistance as low as safely possible, and increase cadence. I'm not sure I've ever ridden at that cadence before. I'm going to practice this more on the bike this winter. Also, the monotony of 30 minutes of high cadence was offset by the fact that we were permitted to have ipods. (another perk of the indoor format, I guess!)

Practicing my aero position while spinning so fast my feet are blurry.

The 5 min transition to the run was much more realistic, and I enjoyed the first use of the Yankz in competition, but I still had plenty of time to stretch out at the treadmill beforehand. Treadmill was set at 1.0 incline, TV was set on SportsCenter, and we were off. My goal was 2.5mi in 10 minutes, and I didn't quite get there. I started off really fast, and tapered off around mile 1. I'm a little disappointed in myself here since I had plenty of gas left in the tank at the end. And I could have easily moved up a couple spots in the rankings.

Balance is forward, but shoulders are still too high...

But overall, I was happy with how it came out:

10 min swim- 17 laps of a 25yd pool, 425yd, 2:20/100yds
30 min bike- 10.15mi, 20.3mph
20 min run- 2.29mi, 8:44/mi

A good status check at the end of the season.

Afterward, we had lunch at G&Ms of Baltimore- a bit out of our way but totally worth it to get some of their world-famous ginormous crabcakes. Then I headed back for the DC Tri Club holiday party/Kona watching party. (it was a very triathlon themed day!) I didn't win any of the raffle prizes, but I'll admit I got a little emotional watching everyone from pros to seniors crossing the finish line. Very inspiring and a good reminder to set goals and be thankful for what you are able to accomplish.

Sadly, I also spent Saturday night and most of Sunday with the worst heartburn ever. This is becoming more and more a trend, especially after hard workouts or race days. New Year's Resolution #1: Training and food log. Any good websites to track this stuff?