Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon - Triathlon

start happened rather quickly which is good for me since i suck at treading water. my swim has been much better this year, so i held some hope that i could hang with tim and some others for a bit. being in the elite wave didn't help that though and for the most part, everyone was practically out of sight within a minute or two.
i was able to push past a few people by the first turn and was completely alone by the time i came back under the bridge. i saw one lone swimmer ahead and pushed to try to catch them. when i made the final turn, i realized there was a chance it was tim and went all out for the final straight back to shore to try to close the gap.
i ended up hitting the sand right on his heels and sprinted by him to the mat. it was a bit unfair since he had no idea i was even there, but i was happy to still be in the mix after the swim. tim us a stronger cyclist than me and i hoped to be able to use his pace to push the bike early.

5/11 MELITE.
not sure what i could have done faster here. i sprinted almost the entire transition with and without the bike in order to stay in contact with tim.

i started trying to follow tim and not lose any ground, but that was a lost cause. he steadily pulled away, but i was still feeling good and tried to hold my position out of the water.
it was nice to have totally clear roads, but it was also tough to keep the pressure on with no one to motivate you to keep pushing. i did pretty well though and finished the first lap strong. at least most of the first lap. apparently, i cut the bike turn around short by ~15 feet. i didn't realize until i did the standard turn at the end of the second lap and remarked to myself how much easier the turn was (more of a rounded turn instead of a 180 degree turn).
the second loop was more crowded, but the roads were all closed, so there was still plenty of room. i had 1 cyclist pass me, but for the most part i held my own and was more comfortable with all the turns, so i was able to push. especially dropping back down onto the bridge. there was plenty of free speed to be had there if you were confident going into that turn.
i came into transition feeling good and sis yelled i was :55 second down on tim.

6/11 MELITE.
i had to dodge some people finishing the swim and i was a little slow getting my sneakers on, but pretty good for the most part.

i felt great on the run and started to chase tim down right abway. i still had no idea what place i was in, but i was looking forward to a good run.
i managed to reel in tim and he said he thought we were 4th/5th. i hoped we could chase some people down, but there just wasn't much out there. the leaders were minutes ahead and i was holding off most of the people behind since they were in later waves. that is the one disappointing thing about wave starts. you never know who is where and don't get a chance to race straight up.
it was a hard run and i started looking forward to the finish. Scoot (FeXY) was riding along the course and offered some encouragement at the right time and i pushed the last mile. it was great coming down the straight to the finish and seeing my sister's arms as she jumped up and down in the crowd.

i congratulated the guys ahead of me in the chute and then we cheered on the other racers as everyone came in. we got some great food and hung out for a bit, but decided to get on the road and get back to the house as company were coming for a bbq at tim/laura's.


nothing. very happy. one of my best put together races so far.


a little issue with my wave assignment, but other than that, this is one of the best run races around. it's a sprint/oly put on with the organization and attention to detail of a major race. great course, good post race food, etc.