Season Encore: Elevate Indoor Triathlon

Two months ago, I competed in the VikingMan Olympic distance triathlon in Heyburn, Idaho (for a breakdown of race distances, see my post "Going the distance..."). I took second place in my age group and then basically took a month off.  I didn't do nothing, but I rested and took it easy on any swims, bikes, or runs that I did; I mostly just biked to work until the weather started getting too cold. 

After a month off, I started focusing on weight training. Because it is getting too cold to bike or run outside, and because running on a treadmill isn't my favorite activity, I figure this is the perfect time to rebuild my strength base and prepare for another season of racing. I have been focusing on weight training for the past month, and I feel really good.

Last night, however, the triathlon bug bit me a little too hard, and I couldn't ignore it.  Almost right across the street from my house (I can walk there in the same amount of time it takes me to drive there.. maybe less), there is a gym called Elevate.  Elevate specializes in triathlon training.  Along with traditional gym equipment--free weights, machines, treadmills, and other cardio machines--Elevate also has a room of CompuTrainers (hook up your own bike and ride as if you were outside) and a room with two Endless Pools.  A USA-Triathlon certified coach also works through Elevate. 

Every January, March, and November, Elevate puts on an indoor sprint distance triathlon: 10 minutes swimming in the Endless Pool, 13 miles biking on the CompuTrainer, and 3.1 miles running on a treadmill.  I participated in these races back in January and March of this year.  Last night, I decided to sign up for the November race, which was held today.

I showed up at Elevate at 10:20 a.m. this morning, 40 minutes before my scheduled start time.  I signed in, got body marked (my race number--22--on my right arm, and my age on my right calf), and then suited up.  There was nobody scheduled to start at 10:30, so we hooked up my bike to the CompuTrainer, and I started early.

First was the swim.  The Endless Pool shoots a constant stream of water at you, and you swim against the current.  Everybody swims ten minutes, and each person is awarded a time bonus or penalty depending upon how fast the current is set.  The default current is set at 1000 psi.  For every hundred psi above 1000 psi, 1 minute is subtracted off the participant's overall time.  As the pool tops out at 1600 psi, the largest time bonus they were giving was 5 minutes off for swimming at 1500 psi.  I jumped in the pool, and the owner of Elevate asked me where I wanted to set the current.

"What is the fastest anyone has swam today?" I asked.

"1300 psi," he told me.

Knowing that I had to take advantage on the swim, I told him, "Let's do 1600!"  I was not going to be outdone here!

So, he set the pool to 1600 psi, counted down from 3... 2... 1... GO!

I was off.  Staying comfortable in the water, I was great for the first 8 minutes.  After that, I started to fade, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish at that pace; I wasn't sure how much longer I had.  Luckily, about a minute later (at least, I'm guessing it was about that long), I got a signal from the triathlon coach that I had one more minute in the pool.  I lengthened out my stroke, relaxed, and finished the entire 10 minutes at 1600 psi... the fastest swim of the day!

It was then off to the bike.  This is probably where I need to do the most work.  The swim comes almost naturally to me, as I grew up swimming competitively in Las Vegas.  The run is my weakest of the three, so that is what I typically spend most of my time working on.  The bike is very enjoyable, so when I go out for a work-out on the bike, I usually forget that I am working out and just enjoy the ride.  I had the equivalent of 13 miles to ride today, and I wanted to push myself.  I am still waiting for the official times and splits to be posted on the Elevate website, but my unofficial time was about 34 minutes and 56 or 57 seconds, which is more than two minutes faster than this same race back in January and March.  Very happy with my performance, I jumped off my bike, took off my bike shoes, pulled on my running shoes, and hopped on a treadmill. 

I was off on the run... though I knew I was going nowhere for the next 3.1 miles.  I gradually increased the speed, and eventually started doing intervals.  I increased the speed by 0.2 miles per hour for one minute, then decreased the speed by 0.1 mph for the next minute, and  kept repeating that so my average speed was constantly increasing.  Like I said, the run is my weakest of the three events.  My fastest 3.1 mile (5K) run is 21 minutes and 14 seconds.  I did mine today (again, unofficially) in 21 minutes and about 58 seconds.

Being done with the run, I slowed the treadmill down to a nice, slow walking pace so I could cool down.  I also stopped the timer on my watch and looked at my unofficial time.  Unofficially, and before subtracting my time bonus for the fast swim, I did this race in 1 hour, 8 minutes, and about 40 seconds.  My time bonus will take off at least 5 minutes. I tried to talk the owner and triathlon coach into giving me a 6-minute time bonus for maxing out the pool; we'll see if they went for it when official times are posted. 

Either way, I "went nowhere FAST" (Elevate's slogan for these races) and ended up with one of the fastest times of the day. Even more importantly... I feel GREAT!!!  This was my 9th and final race of this year, a race I wasn't even planning on doing until last night... a great encore to a great racing season. If I can do this in the middle of my post- (or "off-") season, when I'm focusing on weight training rather than my swim/bike/run training, then I am excited to see what I can do next year!