When I did the Dri-Tri this past weekend, I pretty much knew what to expect. I’ve done it several times before and I’ve learned new tips and tricks each time that usually help me. I don’t always improve every time, but I feel better about it each time I do one. So when I got off the wait list for the Dri-Tri this time, I was so grateful because it was another opportunity for me to test myself and see what new things I could figure out.
But even though I knew what to expect, I also knew this one would be very different from the other ones I’ve done. First of all, I was having a bad nausea/pain day. While I’ve had some nausea, this was going to be the worst of all my Dri-Tri attempts. I was prepared for this, but at the same time it’s hard to be prepared until you are in the middle of the workout. Also, this would be my first time doing a Dri-Tri using the bike instead of the treadmill. If I wasn’t having a bad nausea day, I might have debated using the treadmill even though I haven’t been on it for months. But knowing how I was feeling, there was no way to do anything other than the bike.
We had a 2000 meter benchmark row earlier in the week which I found so helpful. I had an idea of what my row time would be since you are supposed to go slower than the benchmark since the row is only the beginning of the Dri-Tri. I still wanted to be under 9:30 even though that would keep me close to what I did for the benchmark. But I’m stubborn and had that in mind. A lot of people in my heat were doing it for the first time, so there was a lot of emphasis before we started to not burn out on the rower. I listened because I knew I needed the reminder too.
Once we started, I quickly found my pace on the rower. I was not worried about anyone else around me or what was happening other than maintaining my pace. There were a few times I noticed I was getting a bit too speedy and slowed things down, but I was pretty steady without too much effort. I tried to zone out since I knew the row would take time, but that didn’t quite happen. But even with my focus on random things, I still did pretty well with my row. I was the last person to finish, but I did it in under 9:30 so I was very happy with that.
The floor was a challenge that I wasn’t totally prepared for. I always remember the floor as being tough, but I forgot how many things we had on the floor that were face down exercises. Those make me more nauseous so it was a tough section for me. I did modifications when I could like using the bench for plank work, but I still needed a lot of breaks to let the nausea pass. But because I do lunges instead of step ups, I feel like I make up some time doing that. The floor could have been much worse, but it still more than I really thought it would be.
By the time I got to the bike, I was ready to be at the final stage. I had a general idea of how long it would take me to do the bike, but I also haven’t really done that far on the bike in a long time. I started a little higher on the resistance level than my base level, but I decided to drop it back to my base level after the first few minutes. If you are running on the treadmill, you don’t have to go faster than your base. I also knew that if I kept it to my base level that I could probably go faster. And since it’s a timed event, going faster is always better.
I did have a few issues on the bike, but nothing too bad. Whenever I needed some water, I had to stop completely since I’m still not coordinated enough to drink water and pedal at the same time. I also was having waves of nausea during the bike that I had to stop to let pass. I wasn’t sure if the nausea was still from being on the floor or just happening because they happen, but they felt a bit more frequent than I would have thought they would have been. I tried to not stop for too long, but sometimes I just had to.
While I was on the bike, other people were completing their Dri-Tris. I never expect to finish in the first half of the group so I always figure that I will see lots of people finishing before me. I’m never completing against anyone else (even though they do have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners I’m not eligible due to my modifications) so I don’t care where I rank in finishing. And it is always fun watching people complete it because everyone in the room is cheering them on.
As I was getting close to finishing the distance on the bike, I realized that because the staff was focused on seeing who was close to finishing on the treadmills (because they could easily see those numbers) I would have to pay attention to the time I finished. I didn’t mind that there wasn’t attention when I finished because I honestly wasn’t super happy with my time. While I had no idea how long it would take me to finish with using the bike, I still wanted to finish in under 50 minutes. I ended up finishing in 50:50 and it was a little bit frustrating. Those extra 50 seconds could have been one or two water breaks and I hate that I was so close to the goal I set. But I did finish and that is really the most important thing.
I finished around the middle of the pack, and as soon as I caught my breath and recovered a bit I started to see who was close to finishing their 5K on the treadmills. I joined in to cheer on as each person finished and I was so happy I could be a little bit of motivation as other people were finishing. Everyone who started the Dri-Tri was able to finish it. And that is the only goal that really matters.
There were 2 heats for the Dri-Tri and I was in the first one. I had a few friends in the second one and I promised to stick around to cheer them on. I wasn’t sure how late I’d stay, but I wanted to be there for support for my friends. They were nervous with this being their first Dri-Tri and I wanted to help out however I could.
I ended up staying until all of my friends finished their 5K on the treadmill. I didn’t stay for everyone in that heat to finish because I did need to get home, but I wanted to make sure my friends had support even if it was at the very end of their run. They all did amazing and I am so proud of them for taking on a challenge and kicking butt doing it!
While this Dri-Tri wasn’t the same as any of the other ones I did, I’m glad I did it. I found new challenges I had to overcome and I was able to do it. I also now have an idea of how long it would take me to complete the bike section. There’s a good chance I’ll still be using the bike when the next Dri-Tri happens so I’m glad that I have a goal in mind. And I do also know how to deal with my bad nausea days for the Dri-Tri, although I hope the next one will fall on one of my better weeks.
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