My Team Did A Triathalon Today… And I Came In First!

My team participated in a triathalon at the Northwest CT YMCA. Four members of my team showed up, and one other team had two members, so that means six of us were competing for first place.

I had a strategy planned before I did the triathlon. I knew that my strength was the treadmill. I've been using it for so many years and have been increasing the speed on it. I wanted to make sure that I blasted through the treadmill way before everyone else. Why? For one thing, swminning is my weakest area.

The triathlon started around 11:30 in the cycling studio. We each had to spin on the bikes for a total of five miles. I did pretty good in this part. I think I came in third or fourth. Then I ran to the fitness center where the treadmills are. Two people were already on the treadmill for probably a minute or so.

I started up the treadmill and adjusted the speed to 7.5 MPH. After 10 to 20 seconds, brought it up to 8.5 MPH. Eventually, I made it to 10 MPH. I didn't keep it at 10, but did intervals of 10 to 9.5, back down to 7.5, etc. The others seemed surprised at the speed I was going, but this is my strength! I knew I would come out on top with the treadmill.

I completed the 2 miles at around 13 minutes. I rushed downstairs to the pool. I immediately started to do the laps. We needed to do 5 laps (one lap is considered down the pool and back). I started with the free style but got tired after about one lap back and forth. I next tried the butterfly. I got tired again. We didn't have to do any certain type of swim, we just had to make sure it five laps no matter how we did it. So I got through it but at a reduced speed. But it really helped that I beat everyone else on the treadmill. By the time I was half way done with the laps, the second person came in the pool. The third arrived when I had maybe one or two laps left.

The other three participants arrived after I finished. Here is the order of who came in. Of course, I came out on top. Fellow Healthy Living teammates Matt Van Ormer came in at number two and his wife Chris came in at number three. Lisa Traub (the fourth Healthy Living member) came in at number four. Finishing the event were Sharon Zordan at number five and Alicia Pecora at number six (both are from the Totally Awesome team).

If there's one thing I learned from this event, it's this… Everyone has their own strengths. Had this been an all swimming event, Alicia would have beat everyone hands down! If it were just a biking event, I'm certain that Sharon would have won. If this were an all treadmill event, I'm sure I would have come out on top (wait, I already did!)!.

Everyone worked hard and triathlons are not easy! I'd like to congratulate all that participated. It was an awesome event!

Here are some pictures from the event. I felt leary about showing myself shirtless by the pool, but since it's already on Facebook, why not. As you know, I'm trying to tighten my abs. Do you think they are getting there? Take a look at the before picture and let me know what you think!

Here's the before picture, just a reminder of how far I've come. I'm still hoping the skin will tighten some more!