In Training Spring Pool Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Swim felt really effortless this time. I remembered to place the goggles over my eyes before jumping in the water this time :) and remained relaxed during the course of the race. Passed two people in front of me on the swim, boosting my confidence- Got done with the swim feeling like I could have done another 500 yards.

Raise my pace slightly. I could have pushed slightly harder, esp. considering the short swim. I've been able to do 4:00 for 250 consistently in the past. Can't feel too bad though- still seem to be one of the faster swimmers in the crowd.

WAY better than last race's T1. This time I had an easy time running out of the pool (wasn't winded at all), and had my bike shoes opened and ready to go. Socks over the wet feet were a little slow, and strapping the watch on took some time- also took a drink. All in all, I'd say I did very well.

Could try some different socks that go on wet feet more easily, and possibly swim with the watch on (athough that's only possible if I'm going to continue using a stopwatch- I'll likely be buying a GPS watch soon). Also, need to work on jumping on the bike and clicking in. Considering trying regular toe clips and running shoes instead of the bike shoes for another race- That might help as well.

Did much better than last race- managed to hold better than 19 mph- In fact, almost 20- Met my goal speed, so I'm happy. Got passed by a few fast guys, but I managed to pass a few myself too!

Push! I could have done better than 20 mph, but I dinked around with my water bottle, slowing way down on parts. I was also a bit wide/slow on my turnarounds (intimidated by them after last week's little turnaround spill). I would like to get the aerobars too... I'm thinking it might be the ticket to an extra mph or so.

Came in and did this one okay. Still have a hard time with the bike dismount. Just unclipped... should have unstrapped shoes and run in socks. Ran into the transition area in my clunky bike shoes- makes for slow running... Still debating whether using the clipless shoes on the bike makes up for the lost transition times too.

Possibly lose the bike shoes altogether. If I do use the shoes on the next race, I'll make sure I've practiced up on the art of unstrapping my shoes before the dismount so I can just leave the shoes attached and run my bike in on socks.

Let the run kick my butt... After the poor start and wasted time, I was kind of discouraged. I was also breathing hard and felt the need to catch my breath a couple of times. Still, most of the issues were more mental than physical... Ran most of the run at too comfortable of a pace.

Should have REALLY focused on NOT STOPPING and walking!! I've done better in training runs, and know I can handle an 8:00/mi (even sub 8s)... I need to devote more time to running, and incorporate some more bike/run bricks in my training to better simulate and prepare me for the mental torture. I could have easily shaved 2-3 minutes off of my run. I've done it before!! Heck, I've run a half-marathon with 7:59/mi pace before... I just have to get back to my roots! Maybe some base training (just as Yojimbo was touting recently... BASE, BASE, BASE!!!)

Stretches/walking... Rode my bike after I got home with my son at a slow comfortable rate about 4 mi. or so to loosen things up.


Mental willpower... That run whooped me again- Gotta work on that running AFTER the bike. For whatever reason, my mind says NO to running after a bike ride right now, and I listen!


Pool was too hot (athough if they're truly fed by hot springs, there wasn't much that could be done)... Run course, esp. right out of transition was poorly marked and caused some frustration. I felt like I might have blown the race there, since it didn't seem like I was in the right area (even though I was).