Sprint Zebraman Race Report

Pics are here.

I hadn't planned on doing a sprint the day before the 1/2 Ironman that I'm doing tomorrow, but early this week I just figured, hey, I've done this before, why not put a sprint the day before? Besides, I am not worried about what pace I do tomorrow.

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't sure whether I was going to try and push it or not. My driveway, the roads and the YMCA parking lot were total ice when I left. When I got out of my car at the Y, I walked maybe 12 feet, slipped and fell. Good thing I had practiced falling yesterday while out skiing, so I did a nice tuck position into the snow! I laughed, got up gingerly (you'd need crampons to walk on the ice normally), got to the salted part of the sidewalk, and was glad that I'd be indoors for a little over an hour.

Since I didn't have anyone to time me and I didn't feel like looking at a clock, I decided the swim would just be 500 yds. I sucked, even though I was trying to push it a little. I didn't warm up or anything--just got in and swam. I've got 4 weeks to put a little pep in my arms. At least the water was nice and cool, which means it should be cool tomorrow morning for the 1/2 Ironman.

I tried to limit my T1 time to 10 minutes, since that is what they give you for the indoor tris. I went a little over because of the clothing I was wearing--I don't normally wear a long top (I just leave my swimsuit top on) or tights for the actual races. No worries, though.

I adjusted the Precor saddle height, hopped on, and right away I could feel my quads not too happy, but mainly because of my iliopsoas, which are a little jazzed from yesterday's weight lifting and also the skiing adventure. No worries--it doesn't matter how I do today. I actually did do some intervals, just to get used to this fucking bike again, since I'll be riding them at least once a week for the next 8 weeks. My plan is to do one bike workout per week on it, because they are not at all geared like a regular bike. Plus it gets my ass used to the wide saddle and not having a fan on me. I sucked on the bike, but not as badly as I thought I would. 4 weeks is plenty enough time until the real races start for me to step up the intensity in my bike workouts, which I've only recently added intensity to in the last 2 weeks.

Just like in the actual races, I gave myself 5 minutes before I began running on the indoor track. A friend of mine, Al, who lives just down the street from me, walked in and we chatted, and I told him what I was up to. He doesn't even flinch when I tell him about my exploits because he knows I'm a little nuts. He did look a bit wide-eyed at seeing me all decked out in zebra stripes!

I tried to take out the run fairly slow, but failed ;) It was nice and cool in the track/basketball court area, and I had some spectators in the form of a bunch of guys playing hoops. I'm guessing it looked a little funny seeing someone running laps wearing all zebra stripes. I felt on the verge of puking the entire time, which meant I was running the correct pace. I ended up running about my 5K pace, which was great, especially since I haven't been too impressed with my running lately! But I guess a bit of a volume spike has helped.

So all in all, I think I'm going to be well-prepared for the indoor triathlon series that begins in 4 weeks. I'm sure my first race will suck, but I typically improve each race, and I always know so many people there that it's always fun to cheer others and be cheered on by them! If nothing else, it will be tons of fun! Plus I have a friend who is doing all 4 races and I will be running about 1:30 after each one (OUCH!), and then we'll go get some foods and relax the rest of the day. I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday in winter!

I still need to finish my strength workout today, which should take about 25 minutes, and I may spin on the bike for :30 since I bagged it yesterday, and then I need to get psyched for the 1/2 Zebraman tomorrow!

Woo hoo!!!! I am in zebra heaven!