Barrie Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My objective for this triathlon was just to get through the swim, no DNF.
This is my first real tri after the horrendous Vancouver Worlds.
Mission accomplished. Breathing was not smooth, stroke was too rushed, drafting was non-existent and pace was very slow. But at least I didn't freak out and could say I got the Vancouver monkey off my back.
(Wish they would tell us beforehand it's a wave start and the sch start time for my wave. Warmed up way too early and then had to wait an extra 20' before my wave went)

~1' transition time included in swim and the rest included in bike time.
By this time, rain had started. Everything in the tranisition area was wet and gritty. A little unbalanced when I tried to get the wetsuit off. Lots of puddles and I just tried to take it easy and not take any chances.

It's now raining hard, with thunder and lightning. There was a little wind and I felt cold. The memory of Vancouver suddenly came back.
Please.... no hypothermia....please...
Fortunately, the air temp was a lot warmer and I was able to warm up. I stayed on my aerobars and toughed it out while rain was pelting at me like bullets. It was a good decision to wear my aero helmet, which has less vents and provided good rain protection.
I could have gone faster during the turns, but road was very wet and I just wanted to stay safe. According to Garmin, avg speed is ~31.5kph.

T2 time included in bike time. I was soaked and covered with dirt and grit. But I soldiered on.

Heavy rain continued. My shoes were filling with water like a boat taking on water.
I ran within myself, did not walk at any time. HR at Z4, good effort.
Course is shorter than 5k, according to Garmin, my pace was probably ~8:35 min/mi.
As I was running down the finish chute, the announcer said "RUN FASTER, she's going to catch up to you". I've heard him said that many times that morning and I thought he always said that to get people to sprint for the finish line. But he was right, just as I stepped on the mat, a woman my AG stepped on it just ahead of me. Turned out we have EXACTLY the same time, 1:23:37, but she finished 6/21, one spot ahead of me.

Should have checked over my shoulder towards the end and not let that woman stepped on the mat ahead of me.

As the race finished, the rain stopped. Oh well. At least the rain held off during the KOS race, and only the adults had to endure the rain, thunder and lightning. It would have been brutal if the skies opened up on the kids.


Good local race org. Too bad about the weather.
But I finished my first real tri since Vancouver Worlds, solidly MOP, actually top 1/3 in my AG (7/21). Not even BOP on the swim (12/21) even though my frozen shoulder is not 100% recovered. Bike (5/21) and run (8/21) were both respectable, but surprised my run didn't even place me top 1/3 of my AG.
NB - Overall rankings include 145 men