On October 5th, in The Commons, our Vi Triathlon was held, along with a Parade of Champions. According to the official Olympics website, Triathlon was invented in the 1974 by the San Diego Track Club and soon gained worldwide recognition. The intention was to create an alternative workout to simple track-training and by 1989 the first World Triathlon event was held in Avignon, France. The event featured a 1500M swim, 40KM cycle and 10KM run, based on existing disciplines already in the Olympic program.
The benefits to that original 1970's workout hold true today, even when modified (as for our Vi Highlands Ranch version). Participation in a multidisciplinary athletic event such as a Triathlon has a positive impact on our holistic health, including:
promoting cardiovascular health (through staving off atherosclerosis/artery plaque build-up)
promoting brain health (exercise increases blood flow to the brain and multi-disciplinary exercise benefits brain plasticity)
promoting bone health (load-bearing exercise prevents low bone density)
--- According to TeamUSA.
Our Vi Highlands Ranch Triathlon was modified to be resident-friendly, but still was challenging and fun. Here's how Scott Hansen, our Fitness Coordinator, set the guidelines for the Vi Triathlon by age and gender:
90 and over
50-meter swim
1 mile bike
0.5 mile powerwalk
89-81
100-meter swim
1.5-mile bike
1.0-mile power walk
80-71
150-meter swim
2-mile bike
1.5-mile power walk
70 and under
200-meter swim
2.5mile bike
2 miles powerwalk
All events were time-tracked along with a cumulative time presented to the Resident after completion. The event was designed to be a self-competition, e.g. competing during training to achieve personal bests. This engendered a lot of team spirit and positively reinforced our abilities to strive for and reach new goals.
This year's participants included Paul Chamberlin, Betty Kopplin, Randy Vosbeck, Cathy Bauer, and Peter Fessenden. Be sure to congratulate them on their perseverance and athleticism. AND, don't hesitate to find Scott Hansen and ask how you can join in the fun next time!
Interested in more photos from the event? Visit our Shutterfly to view and/or download.
