Littleton AppleMan Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Not a great swim time for me, but I had been fighting some heavy anxiety about OWS and was hoping this would cure me of it, which it did to an extent. The first leg was a wash, with me flipping on my back a few times to get my breathing down and swallowing a few shnozz-fulls of water. I sighted great, which had been a concern. The second leg was much better, and the third I actually passed a few people which was a great confidence booster. Swimming in a pack didn't bother me.

Train more OWS. I was a little jittery at first, but feel a whole lot better about OWS now. I think I can knock down my time considerably. I'll probably invest in a wet suit for next year.

Pretty good for my first transition, I think. I didn't fumble around too much and my feet weren't covered in sand, so it went well.

I didn't exactly rush, so I think I can cut down some time here as well. I was trying to make it as smooth as possible, and I think I did.

I'm riding a cross bike with knobbies, so I was very happy with my time, considering too that my T1 was fairly slow. I passed a lot on the up hills, got passed some on flats. I felt really strong on the hills. Hit a great rythym about 2 miles in and just went with it. I'll probably stick to plain water next time, though. The electrolyte drink was starting to sit a little heavy.

Push harder early and check out the course before hand. I had heard there were a lot of very challenging hills, so I held back a bit more than I should have, waiting for some monster hill to come over the horizon.

Pretty smooth I think. Exiting the area there was a staffer yelling that you had to run to the left when exiting. She meant HER left, which had me pretty confused for a bit. My calves ususally cramp up for the first 50 yards or so, but they didn't here. Maybe running on the sand helped. Ate another gel.

Nothing.

There was a pretty good hill for the first 1/2 mile or so. Maybe more. It was a struggle to keep running. Also, it was getting pretty hot and the second gel and the electrolyte drink were not sitting well. I felt a lot better when it leveled off, and there were people on the sides of the road hosing you down if you want, and that helped. I wasn't prepared for the hiking trail portion and ended up walking a bit where it got really rocky/rooty. My training runs absolutely didn't incorporate near enough hills, as it turns out. I was starting to fade fast when I got back to the paved road. But then it was a nice coast downhill, and the last 1/2 mile was flat.

Train harder for speed and hills. I did almost no speed work and limited hills. Also, I think I need to ditch the electrolyte drink, or at least limit it.

Got dizzy there for a bit. It passed pretty quick though. I walked around and chugged some water.


What a fun time! It was a great learning experience. I set a reasonable goal as far as time and I beat it, but now I have a clear picture of what I need to do to better my times in all the events.
Swim - Anxiety

Bike - Got to get a road bike, or re-tool what I have.

Running - Not training enough.


It was a really positive atmosphere. It was organized and well planned and pretty easy for a first timer to manage. The staff and other participants were all very supportive. I'd reccomend this race to anyone at any level.