LTF Indoor Triathlon Report

This first sentence is kinda depressing: I got ready for the tri last night with a supper of chicken nuggets and 5 bowls of Wheaties (with sugar) while grading student’s projects and watching “Cops,” “Antiques Roadshow,” and “Forrest Gump” at home by myself. Another exciting Saturday night in the Stenzel household.

This was my third annual indoor tri, and this event holds a special place in my heart. Two years ago, this same indoor was my very first triathlon (the one that got me hooked). Anyway, I headed out this morning, and I heard Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” on the way to the tri. I smiled a bit to myself, and at that point, I knew it was going to be a good day.

I arrived at Lifetime Fitness and got ready to go. I went out to the pool to watch the group before my heat take off. As I was sitting by the pool, I started talking with 3 women. This was their first tri, and I was trying to be “the helpful guy who’s done this before,” but not “the creepy guy that won’t stop talking about how much he knows about tris.” One of the ladies wants to pawn her bike off on her middle-schooler so she can by a nice, new tri-bike for herself so she can start doing outdoor triathlons. I love a woman with a plan! We had a nice chat, and we all hopped in the pool to get ready.

The Swim:

I was hoping to swim 21 lengths. That was my biggest goal for the day: 525 meters in 10 minutes. I had been working with Andrea, a swim coach at my Y, who had given me some drills to help with my breathing and hopefully speed me up a little. I wanted to see what I could do. I asked my lap counter to help me get to 21 lengths. She laughed and said, “I really can’t do much about that!...”

Some woman shouted “go” and we all splashed about. I had lost track of my lap count. Along with my form. Andrea would have been pissed. My shoulder wasn’t doing what Andrea wanted it to do. After 10 minutes, it was over. My lap counter was smiling. “Twenty-one?” I asked hopefully. “Twenty-one! You did it!” Here she is (broken leg and all) after I got out of the pool:

Apparently, that swim cap didn’t do much for my hair...

The Bike:

We all had 10 minutes to run though the locker room and get up to the spinning studio. Not much to say here. I hopped on a spinning bike that had the resistance set (and taped down), and my hips were rockin’ all over the place. My cadence was nasty fast, kinda like sex with Carrot Top. Here’s a sweet, sweaty-boobs pic of me about half way through the bike:

Shut up. I don’t photograph well during triathlons.

The Run:

We had five minutes to get from the spinning studio to the treadmills. I was there and ready to strap on my Nikes. But there was a little problem. Each year at the indoor tri, I’ve had a minor emergency. Two years ago, I had too much guacamole the night before and was a little “squirty” at the start of the swim (no need to say more - in fact, I’ve already probably said too much). Last year, the toe-cages on my bike pedals were on backward, and the little medal clasps kept catching on each revolution. This year, it was time for some drama on the run. As I got to the treadmills and pulled my shoes out of my bag, I realized that a water bottle had leaked into my bag. My right running shoe was SOAKED! Poop. Well, nothing I could do. I threw on my shoes and hit the treadmill.

Shut. Up. It was hard work.

I started at 9.0 mph, and in just a minute or 2, I bumped it up to 9.5 mph. With 5 minutes left, I bumped up to 10.1 mph. I wanted to break 3.0 miles. After 20 minutes, I had run 3.19 miles. Sweet.

Final Numbers:
- Swim: 10 minutes: 21 lengths (525 meters)
- Bike: 30 minutes: 16.6 miles
- Run: 20 minutes: 3.19 miles
- I PRed in every category! (Previous best: 19 lengths last year, 15.3 miles on the bike 2 years ago, 2.58 miles run last year)

I don’t think I’ll end up placing as high as I’d like, but I really can’t complain about PRing in all 3 categories! I went home and made 2 ham, egg, and cheese burritos with salsa:

Official results will be up tomorrow or Tuesday. Check back then to see how I placed. Thanks all!