T-minus 2 weeks.  Yesterday was a great training day!

As I drove to the gym, I thought about my workout and set my goals for the day as I often do.  I decided that today was going to be my first Sprint Triathlon simulation. I had planned to be ready for this the week of the Triathlon (June 21), but I felt really good today, having had a great night’s sleep.  So I decided to make a go for it.

I didn’t want to focus on time and how long each leg took.  My main goal was to complete all required distances without stopping.  Unfortunately, I got to the gym at 1:15 and I had to be out of there by 3:30pm in order to get home, dressed, and to work on time.  So time was a little bit of a concern.

Nonetheless, I started at 1:18pm and finished at 3:01pm.  Not only was I successful, but I think I made pretty good time for my first try.

1:15pm: Arrive at LA Fitness gym

1:16pm: in the pool stretching and getting myself mentally prepared.

1:18pm: Start swimming. My main focus here was two-fold: maintain a slow, consistent pace and set “mini-goals” within my total distance in order to stay mentally alert and positive.  The first 20 or so laps were tough, but then I started to fall into a nice groove and probably could have swam for another 50 laps by the end. I lost count at some point, so I may have did an additional 2 or 4 laps…not sure.

1:43pm: 44 laps complete.  I then literally ran out of the pool and quickly toweled off, nearly giving some guy next to me a heart attack.  As everyone stared at me as if I had lost my mind, I ran into the locker room to change.

1:46pm: Changed, I ran out of the locker room and upstairs to the bikes.  I jumped on and started pedaling.  This was a challenge.  I made it to 10 miles in 30 minutes, but I had struggled the whole way.

2:15pm (aka 3:15pm): After 10 miles or so, I started to again find my groove and this started to become easier.  At this point during the bike leg, as I pondered how differently riding a real bike would be, I lost track of time and mistakenly thought it was 3:15, even though it was really 2:15.  I was pushing to finish the bike leg in 40 minutes, but was also watching the the clock to 1) keep track of my total time since I forgot my watch and 2) To make sure I wasn’t late for work.  So time suddenly became a factor as I pushed to 15 miles.  I guess I should have given it more thought, but at the time I was so focused, that I was only looking at the clock’s minute hand.

2:31pm: 15 miles complete. I cooled down for about 15 seconds.  I thought about taking my shoes off and putting them back on, but now I was potentially going to be late for work, so I opted to just start running.  I jumped off the bike and my legs nearly buckled.  I was definitely fatigued.  I really pushed to complete the bike in 40 minutes, but ended up finishing in 45 minutes flat.  This was still an improvement from my last time of 48 minutes.

2:32pm: Start running on the treadmill.  Started out at a pace of 5.  Then increased by 0.2 each quarter mile until miles 2.  I started to get really exhausted at a half mile into my run, so by 2 miles I was so tired!  I had to finish though.  And if I was going to see it through and reach my goal, I wanted to push myself as much as I could.  At mile 2, I bumped the pace to 6.8 and ran for a quarter mile.  At 2.25 miles, I decided to run for the finish line and pushed my pace all the way up to 8 (besides, it was now almost 4pm, so I thought).  I really tried to stay as focused and relaxed as possible, making sure not to fall.  I made it to 3 miles without pulling my pace back.

3:01pm: FINISHED!

Swim: 44 laps in 25 minutes

Bike: 15 miles in 45 minutes

Run: 3 miles in 28.75 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 44 minutes

Transitions: 5.25 minutes (not sure how realistic that is)

* mental note: It wasn’t until I got into my car that I realized that it was only 3PM, so I made it to work in plenty of time.  Losing track of time probably helped to push me a bit.

Looking at these times and thinking about how different the conditions will be in the real race (waves, wind, navigating around other people, transitions, etc.), I definitely going to have to improve on these times.  More to come on this.