Hart House Triathlon – Feb 14’09
February 14… Valentine’s Day! I can’t think of a better way to spend it (ok, maybe some others can think of a few ideas but it wasn’t quite in the books for me).This indoor race is a favourite winter event of mine. You get such an awesome deal!Cost: $32 for individuals or $45 for a team of 2-3 peopleOur goodie bags contained: a stylin’ grey shirt that said “I Tri’d at U of T Hart House”, flip flops, water, granola bars, a $4 coupon for their cafeteria (to replenish our bodies after the race), a coupon for a free on-site shiatsu massage, and discounts for The Runners Shop (on Bloor).Other great things included: a hot shower, towel service, temporary day locker/lock, chances to win random cool draw prizes (like bottles of maple syrup or gift certificates to a running store), plus there were tons of friendly volunteers to keep the event fun and organized!Location: U of T Hart House downtown (TTC accessible, parking also available for $7)3 Categories:1) Relay2) Fitness members/University students3) CommunityTotal: 80+ competitors – 44 females, 38 males, (not sure how many relay racers there were)Pre-raceI ate some yummy organic oatmeal mixed with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mangos, bananas, and peaches. Sometimes I’ll mix rice milk with some Vega powder and blueberries. These always tend to be my favourite pre-race fuels.My friend Alex came out to support me and capture the event on camera so I saw him in the stands waving and snapping away while my hands were shaking involuntarily from being so nervous (even though this was only supposed to be my “C” race).I started listening to music as I warmed up on the deck and chatted with my fellow competitors. It turned out that they were all part of the Triathlon Club at Queens University (yikes, I wasn’t part of any club).Swim (15 minutes, points allocated to # of lengths completed)
- Enough time for a 2 length warm-up prior to the race
- Nice comfy 80-81 degree temperature with 6 lanes (just shy of 25m)
- Mats available for stretching, flags available on both ends so you can see where to do flip turns (if you decide to do backstroke)
- Viewing gallery right above pool deck (so you get to hear people cheer for you)
- With 1 minute left in the swim; the volunteers jam a red flutter board into the water to give you a warning of the last minute (but it’s not likely that you’ll see it)
>This leg is my strength since I was a varsity swimmer; I did full out freestyle for the whole thing and paced myself with my own waterproof watch since there was no clock. There were 7 racers in my heat. I was a lot quicker than the other swimmers but I also knew that the points awarded for swimming would not count heavily in the race overall so I didn’t get too excited about passing everyone but I still tried hard.T1This is supposed to be 5 minutes long but it ended up being 10 minutes since there was a delay in cleaning/wiping down the bikes and adjusting the settings.This leaves the competitor with enough time to change out of their swim gear and into their bike/running gear, use the bathroom, run up the flights of stairs to the indoor stationary bike area, (+ sip water, stretch, yawn, make new friends, take a nap?)Bike (15 minutes, points allocated for distance covered)
- Exercise machines are set for 15 minutes at whatever resistance you choose
- A higher resistance and higher RPM (revolutions per minute) = higher distance
- High energy music blasted as we pedaled away
>I was tired! Suddenly I wondered if I shouldn’t have swum 45min, biked 60min, and did hot yoga the day before the race (my usual Friday workout). I was trying really hard to keep up with another guy who was spinning super hard. This is my weakest leg and I know I need to develop my base in this. I tried to stay above 105 rpm at a resistance that floated between 12-14 (normally I only train with an rpm of 85-90 with resistance of 13-14 for about 45-60min). I got schooled in this leg.T2We got a 5 minute break and by this point I really drained my legs so I appreciated the rest.Run (15 minutes, points allocated for # of half laps completed)
- 200m indoor track on a cushiony rubbery surface (but with no grip) in a counter clock-wise direction
- A bit dark but relatively well circulated/ventilated
- A lot of volunteers cheered the runners as they raced so that kept our moods up
>This is always the most exhausting part of the race for me. I started off slowly and paced myself behind a girl and gradually passed her and picked up speed while maintaining my pace. The tight curves made it difficult to accelerate.Post RaceThere were lots of hallway space and empty gym rooms to cool down after the race so I did some of my usual warm down exercises and stretched out while chatting with Alex.After a nice relaxing shower, they had a quiet room where we lined up for shiatsu massages while snacking on fresh fruits/veggies. I think I was going to melt from the massage! I might have drooled a bit… I hope no one noticed!The award ceremony commenced around 2:00pm and I got 1st place for the Community category (3rd place female overall) and received a $25 gift certificate for The Runners Shop on Bloor.Thank-you’s to…
- My mom for making me oatmeal in the morning (she never comes out to any of my races, but it’s become a tradition for her to make me ‘Race Day Breakfast’)
- DJ Bowza for the awesome hip hop, R& B tunes (you can add these podcasts to your ipod: http://www.djbowza.com/)
- Alex for supporting me and being my personal photographer for the day
- Encouragement from my friends prior to the race: Vanessa, Ryan, Daniela, Jenn…
- Derek for being an awesome & motivational Triathlon training buddy
- The Veg diet (I was proud to sport my Toronto Vegetarian Association shirt during the race and also another Veg top after the race… I actually have a large variation of funny Veg shirts too)
- U of T & its sponsors for hosting the event
- The wonderful volunteers
Here are the race results:http://www.harthouse.utoronto.ca/userfiles/Triathlon%20-%202009%20-%20Overall.pdfHere are some pictures of the Triathlon that we captured:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220600&id=697955601&l=2c50733c55
