Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon Recap

Let me just start this post off by saying, YES, you can in fact complete a triathlon by doggie paddling in the swimming portion. You'll go really slow, but you can do it. And it doesn't matter your shape or size - or age for that matter - triathlons are for everyone! Here's a pic of me and my Dad after we finished our first ever indoor triathlon! Sorry it's a little blurry.

We made it to Lifetime Fitness out in Allen, TX right at 8:15 or so, which was perfect for our wave start of 8:40. My Dad and I were awestruck by the enormity of the Lifetime Fitness. For real - this place could have it's own zip code! It had a salon, three or four class/yoga type studios, an AMAZING spin room, a juice bar/restaurant, an outdoor pool complete with an awesome looking slide, and an indoor pool that I think was Olympic sized. And that's just what I saw as we breezed through. Seriously, if I didn't already belong to a gym, I would join this one. And no, they are not paying me to say that ; )

Instead of a race t-shirt, they gave our swim caps and running hats - "if you wanted them." I pocketed my running hat, and threw my swimming cap on for the first leg of the triathlon: swimming. This was the portion of the race that I was dreading. Mainly because I hadn't swam in over a year, and my swimming "skills" are somewhat lacking. I remember taking swim lessons where I learned all the fancy moves, but I was a little fuzzy on the details. I'm more of a doggy paddle/tread water type of gal. My Dad thought the swimming would be easy since he goes to the pool for 30 - 40 minutes at a time when he goes. Turns out, I was right - swimming is HARD! We had to swim laps for 10 minutes and a lady at the end of the pool counted our laps. I did 12. My Dad did 11. The guy next to us did 24. I was in awe. My Dad decided that when he goes to the pool he is probably more like me: a water treader.

After the swimming, we had five minutes to change and meet in the spin room. I'm horrible with time and am always late. So I was worried that I was going to be late. I changed out of my swim suit in record speed. And tried to put on my sports bra. While I was still wet. I ended up with it stuck in a very awkward position and totally wrenched my back. It was awesome. And I was the first person to make it to the spin studio :)

The spinning went by pretty fast. It was 30 minutes of spinning on those super uncomfortable spin bikes. But I made it a little over 13 miles in the 30 minutes. For some reason, I thought I would go further than that, but oh well. That's what I did! Running was next, and I busted out 1.88 miles in 20 minutes. I was pretty proud of that. I'm a slow runner and I was super happy with my fast-ish run. My Dad did a little over 12 miles on the bike and 1.5 miles on the treadmill. My Dad rocks! I'm so proud of him for his race accomplishments this past year. And myself for that matter. Getting fit and healthy is sometimes such a challenge. But when I can push myself that little bit further and test my own limitations and endurance and will power, it makes it all worth it.