Conquering the Indoor Triathlon: A Personal Race Report

Active Living Active Living
Sep 16, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Sep 29, 2024

RACE DAY - Cape of Storms unleashed one of its Winter mornings again today and I was so glad we are doing this all in doors.

Nerves was a bit all over the place - because the last time I did this, was a bit traumatizing due to the fact that I was not prepared.

The swim was bad, because I hadn't been in water in a long time, the pool was a heated pool, so I felt totally cloister phobic. The cycle was on a loan bike, and running was not my thing at that stage haha. That was in 2016

Now 8 Years later and a lot fitter I decided to take on one again, still not at the open water swim thing, but I am swimming with so much more confidence and running and cycling is now part of my weekly training.

PREP - For those of you use to packing for a triathlon - you pack your whole cupboard LOL.

I didn't make it too complicated and just stuck to the basics. Swim suit, cap and goggles, Running Shorts, shirts and then cycling shoes and running shoes.

SWIM: I started with a two lap flyer and regretted it dearly, but after a bout 6minutes got into a nice rhythm and ticked off those lengths like a boss. At the end of the 20min, I was both sad and thankful that it was over.

TRANSITION 1: 5 minutes to get up the stairs, get on some cycling kit and to set up your bike. That went a bit wrong, I struggled to get the shorts over my wet legs after the swim, then left my hydration and had to run back.

BIKE: Like you saw from the transition that went wrong LOL, it started a bit chaotic. Thankfully there were people helping us and I got on the bike. I have been doing a lot of prep in my threshold zone and was able to keep myself at a hight output for the duration of that 20mins.

Sweating like a dripping tap. I got off feeling good about my effort.

TRANSITION 2: This time the 5mins was a bit easier as I only had to change shoes, grab a dry towel and new bottle of hydration. I also took my head phones to give me the zone out for the run , I knew I was tired and my leg did start telling me I am pushing.

RUN: 20minutes on a treadmill can feel like weeks. With everyone looking at you and checking your distance it's a bit nerve wracking. BUT... music in my ears, I calmed the nerves, got into a nice pace and kept the rev counter in the red.