March 16, 2012

Andrea: Indoor Triathlon and off to Brazil

This post was written by Andrea:
I really love how active my company is about getting people to live healthy lives. One event that my office does every year is an indoor triathlon competition. This triathlon a pretty random combination of events - running, elliptical, and recumbent bike - for 7 miles total. Last year, I won it for the women and got 3rd overall. However, at that point I was just beginning to train seriously and was new to my job so no one knew me very well. Now I am pretty well known across the company as being a runner and good athlete, so the pressure was on for me to beat everyone! Here is my "race report" -

Indoor Triathlon Race Report

Treadmill 2 miles, no incline - 11:37

Elliptical 1 mile, 5% incline - 6:48
Recumbent Bike 4 miles - 15:38

Total time (with transitions) - 34:30



I gotta say, there was a lot of pressure for me to win this silly triathlon. Several guys have come to my cubicle over the past two weeks and told me their times and what I would have to beat. I only wish that this was back in November when I was in tip-top marathon shape!
Warmed up 2 miles, followed by lots of stretching and massaging for my feet. Then hit the treadmill. The time starts as soon as you push start and it took forever to get the treadmill up to 10.5mph. I felt really strong for the first 1.4 miles then got a little tired because I haven't run fast besides a few 200s this year. 11:37 is not too bad - really a relief because I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to even hit 6 min/miles with my lack of fast running.

Transitioned to the elliptical and put the resistance at 8. Quite a workout to move the legs at 230 strides/min - I was breathing pretty hard!

Final leg of recumbent bike. The one here at work leans back really far which is kinda awkward when you're trying to pedal fast. Resistance at 8 here too.

My transitions lacked any grace - almost fell off the treadmill and the elliptical :o)

Overall, a great workout. I won overall (even despite my lack of fitness due to injury) so I have bragging rights now until next time. Also, I beat my time from last year by 1:45 too - I hope that's a good omen for races to come!

The biggest accomplishment is that my feet gave me no problems at all! Looks like I'll be able to start tempos in the next couple weeks.


Now I am heading off to Brazil for 17 days - Rio for 4 days, Juiz de Fora for 5 days, and Sao Paulo for 7 days. Thank goodness that I get to travel Business Class - it's a whole other world!!

The advantages of Business Class - lie flat seats and United Club with free snacks, bar, and comfy seats!





Meanwhile, Jake will be putting his finishing touches on training for Boston. He's got some BIG workouts coming up in the next couple weeks! Luckily I will be home in time to make sure he tapers - he loves his big mileage :) 

4 comments:

  1. What a cool thing to do at work - I wish my office would have this sort of competitions! They say healthier employees are happier employees - great idea!

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  2. Hi Andrea - I follow HRG, and found this blog after reading the interviews you and Jake gave (which were great btw!). I'm loving the posts and information you guys put up. Question: I'm new to distance running, but as I up my mileage I'm getting awful blisters on both big toes (like, covers the entire underside of the toe). I've tried body glide, doesn't help. Any chance you have some tips you could pass along?

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  3. Hey Jocelyn - first you want to make sure of if that you have enough room in the toe area of your shoes.

    In the rare occasion I get a blister or hot spot, I just coat the whole area with aquaphor or something like that before I put my socks on.

    To help the blisters heal, I'd recommend soaking your feet in an epsom salt bath. I'm not sure how it works, but it definitely works!

    Before you know it, as you get more and more used to the increased amount of running, your feet will get super tough and durable, Johnny Appleseed style! :-)

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  4. I'm going to try the aquaphor and epsom salt bath! Thank you!

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