I’ve done the Dri–Tri at Orangetheory multiple times before. I’ve done the regular one in the studios, I’ve done 1 relay, and I did the at-home Dri-Tri when the studios were still shut down. It’s always a challenge, but it’s also something I look forward to. I might be nervous and sometimes question why I’m doing it before starting or in the middle of the event, but I’m always proud of myself when I’m done and I have never really regretted doing one after. I am always proud of what I can do, even if I’m disappointed in not getting a PR or having a big improvement from my last one. And it’s a great way for me to prove to myself that I am strong and I can do a fitness challenge as hard as the Dri-Tri is.
But they don’t always go smoothly for me. I’ve had some not-so-great luck with a few of the ones in the past. I’ve had one that was after a night that I wasn’t able to sleep so I was exhausted and really didn’t feel ready. My first post-shutdown Dri-Tri seemed to have multiple issues such as me having the wrong time written down so I almost missed it plus I was dealing with a burst blood vessel in my eye. And when the Dri-Tri this time was announced, I realized right after signing up that it was going to be on what would likely be one of the worst pain and nausea days for me. That’s just how it happened and there was no way I could have prevented that.
But I’ve done workouts while I’m hurting and I figured this would be another challenge for me. I also knew that since it was a bit later than my typical morning classes, I could take some pain and anti-nausea meds a few hours before it started so they would have time to kick in. I wasn’t going to go into the Dri-Tri with any super crazy goals. I really just wanted to finish in under an hour (if possible) and I didn’t want to have to leave to be sick. I also had a real stretch goal of finishing in under 55 minutes, but I knew that was going to be very difficult since I haven’t done that for my most recent ones.
The 2000-meter row is always first, and I think that might be what worries me the most each time. That’s a really long row and I have learned from Dri-Tris in the past that I can’t go too hard or I will be too tired for the rest of it. So making sure I pace myself is important but also I need to try to push myself a bit and not go as easy as I might for a regular workout. I knew I would need some breaks during the row and some would be out of my control (if I get too nauseous, I have to stop or it will get much worse). But I wanted to limit the breaks that weren’t necessary so I could get off the rower as fast as I could. I only ended up taking 3 breaks total. 2 of those breaks were ones that I picked and 1 was due to being nauseous. And I didn’t take my first break until I had done over 1000-meters, so that was a big accomplishment for me. I was able to do the row in just over 11 minutes, which was much better than I expected. I had a goal in my head of trying to be under 15 minutes.
The floor was extra tough this time because there are a few exercises that are face down and those make me extra nauseous. I just took my time with those and modified things where I could so I didn’t get too sick. I know we aren’t supposed to modify much, but my studio and the coaches there are really good about being ok with me having to make those changes so I can manage things. The one tough thing each time with the floor is that you do the exercises twice. So you always know when you are halfway through and sometimes it feels like I have so much more to do. This time felt like that, but I was focused a bit more on not feeling sick so that, in a weird way, was a nice distraction.
And the last part is the 5K run, which is 12.4 miles on the bike. I’ve done the bike for the last few Dri-Tris and I think I’m getting better on the bike each time. I do still need to make improvements with how fast I pedal. I probably need to put the resistance level lower than I’m used to so I can keep going fast and not get too tired. I did try to do a few small bursts of sprints so I could pedal really fast and then went back to a consistent pace. That helped a lot with getting a lot of distance quickly on the bike.
When I got on the bike, I knew I could make a guess for how long it would take before I was done. I know approximately how long that part will take, but the variable is how often I might need to rest or drink water. So I had a good feeling that I probably would finish in under an hour, but I wasn’t sure how close to that hour mark I would be. I think those sprints helped me a lot because I ended up finishing in 55:24, which was 27 seconds faster than my last Dri-Tri! I wasn’t expecting to beat my last one, especially with how I was feeling. I guess this is a sign of how much stronger I am than I was back then. I’m still over 6 minutes away from my PR, but I know it’s going to take time to get close to that old time again. But I’m so thrilled with a 27-second improvement!
I was celebrating my improvement while I hung out at the studio to cheer on the next group of people working on the Dri-Tri. I didn’t stay the entire time for the next group because I was starting to feel really nauseous and wanted to get home, but I was there until most of them got onto their treadmills.
And then when I got home, I figured out something else I could celebrate. This was technically my 10th Dri-Tri! I have now done 8 full in-studio, 1 relay, and 1 at-home. I don’t know if I want to necessarily count the relay and at-home ones, but a friend told me they should count since I did a fitness challenge no matter which one I did. So I’m going to celebrate that and then celebrate doing 10 in-studio ones after completing 2 more.
I really went into the Dri-Tri this past weekend worried I wouldn’t do ok and that I might feel like I missed a chance to prove to myself I could do it. Instead, I went above and beyond what I thought I could do and I proved to myself even more than ever that I am an athlete who can take on challenges like this!
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