Berlin Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I felt great the whole way through. I passed a lot of people and felt good timing. RPE 5 out of the gate and then slowing to RPE 4 after the first two minutes or so. Cruise speed was pretty much RPE 4 for most of the way. I gunned to RPE 5-6 for the home stretch.

Train, Train, Train to improve form. But my swimming has improved much this year.

Ever-so-slightly bumbled with the velcro on my bike shoes. Foot washing and drying went smoothly. Removed swim cap, goggles, ear plugs, and nose plugs almost right out of the water. Jog to my transition area seemed in slow motion, but was good. Washed and dried feet, put on socks, shoes, skull cap, gloves, shades, and secured helmut. Unracked the bike, and had a pretty good jog to the start area.

Maybe wash and dry both feet simultaneously? Figure out a way to better manage the velcro on my bike shoes and maybe next time, feel free to push the sprint to the start a little more.

Felt great the whole way. Was a bit tentative about opening up the bike so much so soon. But I soon got confidence with the road. Cadence was consistent, and I cruised in aero position for 75% of the time, going to the racing bars for turns. Turns were good, esp the last two laps where I got more confident. I took a sip of water outbound and a sip of sports drink inbound every lap. I took an extra large drink of sports drink during the final inbound. In the home stretch I slightly stretched the back to prepare for T-2.

I downshifted a little too soon in the home stretch. Next time - follow through until the last 10 meters. Again - train, train, train more efficiently for more economy and more speed.

Jog to my transition area was good but FELT a little slow. I bumbled once with my right running shoe and had to re-install. Removed helmut and skull cap easily. Put on running cap pretty easily. Racked the bike easily. Ran the wrong way for 20 meters! Had to ask a volunteer. Again, the volunteers should have helped more with this - and definitely should have said something to me when I was running the wrong way (and not waited for me to ask!)

Be more ZEN when installing the running shoes. Think ahead and try to know where entrances and exits are BEFORE the race begins.

Run felt good all of the way through. After finding the start I initially left the gate at RPE 2, getting my running legs. I kept it at RPE 2-3 for the first five minutes before accelerating to a cruise pace of RPE 4. I drank one cup of water out of the gate. At the half way mark, I took a gel and some water - spreading it out over almost a half kilometer. Into the third kilometer, I accelerated to RPE 5, where I stayed for the rest of the race. I passed some people, others passed me. I accelerated to a sprint in the home stretch, overtaking a couple of others. I tried to overtake one girl in front of me. She went to sprint too and I never passed her.

Again - train more efficiently for more speed, endurance, and economy. Maybe review running positions with hands and arms.

light jog - walk - stretch - calves - hamstrings - quads - thighs - ass - back - arms - shoulders - biceps - triceps - pecs - back and side bends: PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH, GOT DISTRACTED TALKING TO ABBIE AND JOSH


Limited and less methodical training. I think that I really need to focus more on technique during training for next year and make speed more of a priority. Until now, I have just focused on two goals - finishing, and NOT FINISHING LAST. I have achieved them until now. I now feel ready to be faster.


During check in a volunteer made me adjust the aero bar to conform to race rules. He said it had to do with "non draft racing" but I have never heard of an aero bar length regulation or the aero bar having anything to do with drafting. This caught me off guard. I was annoyed, pinched my finger (very painfully) and scratched my wrist trying to adjust the aero bar quickly (the bar was very tight.) Berlin was very unorganized. The original date was June and was changed only two weeks before the event. This alone is reason for this event not to be taken seriously. I did it because it was a sprint and I live here. But I would NOT recommend it for anybody unless they live near Berlin, schedule it as a B or C race, and don't expect ANYTHING. The race is disorganized. The volunteers are dry and are not really helpful. They also yell a lot - for what reason I don't know. You don't need to yell and/or be a dick when giving participants and spectators instructions. YELLING AT the participants when to mount and dismount the bike (not TO them to be heard over noise) is just plain ridiculous. Only three water stations - beginning of the run, halfway through the run, and at the end. Not enough volunteers who have information - only a few volunteers who like to YELL directions AT everybody, and tell you what they don't know. Pedestrian traffic was not well managed as I nearly plowed over somebody crossing the street on the race course during the bike segment. This was around a curve where there are even volunteers to help manage this.

The course is pretty easy - no hills, etc. Nice road and a nice run through the park. Aside from the disorganization, it could be a perfect event for somebody doing their first triathlon - as long as the disorganization and bogus volunteers don't ruin it for them.

Weather was perfect. For me it was my best race to date in many ways. I felt great from beginning to end. I also beat my last sprint time of two years ago, so I'm proud of that.