Salem YMCA Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I am not a fan of snake swims. I was particularly unnerved that flip turns were allowed. I am not a fast swimmer. My shoulder injury left me concerned tnat I couldn't do this at all.

I had a great swim for me. I posted my time for my slot at 6m45s. I got out of the water at 6:10. My shoulder never said a word. I only had to pass one person, though I bumped him and felt terrible about it. Only one person passed me. It was a clean swim for the last 200. I transitioned under lane lines smoothly. A really good swim for me. Maybe snake swims aren't so bad after all. Having the boy and Uncle Kevin walk right up to the wall on the final turn and scream at me was incredibly cute even if it did throw off my breathing for a stroke.

Obivously my preparation was lacking. I did the best I could for my injured left shoulder. Ultimately, swimming lessons need to be in my future some day.

A day will come where I actually try harder to get through transitions. I was really scattered during transition. What's the towel for? Oh yeah, I'm wet! Oy!

Practicing it once or twice perhaps. Caring to do better perhaps.

I knew Thompson Memorial was going to be rough for me. It didn't disappoint. My quads really burned. Flew down hill around 311. Top speed was 32.8 MPH. I was really pleased with how I did over the flat stretch on Kesler Mill. I kept it going well over 20 during that stretch. East Main kicked my butt. I actually did better on East Hill than I expected.

One bike ride before the race. One. I had very limited my training to protect my shoulder. You want to be better ready for hills ... ride more hills.

Dropping to my butt and putting on socks and shoes is not how the serious folks do it. I felt a bit more organized with T2.

I foolishly fumbled trying to find the pocket on my jersey for a second gel (which I ended up not using). Silly, silly, silly.

The run utterly punished me. I was lucky not to have ended up on my back side on the grass slop just out of transition. Just after the one mile mark on the hill on Idaho Street I was reduced to walking in a race for the first time in three years of doing this. A BT colleague used this quote on a hilly race. "This hill sucked the will to live right out of me, and I just wanted it to be over." A great description of how I felt. Unfortunately, I had two miles to go.

I had two more walks over the hills that followed. The Toby Alley, Richfield Ave, Calhoun St, Burwell Street loop was especially difficult. The final hill up Illinois was a heartbreaker as well. For me, it was withering. Other than pacing my 78-year old Senator, it was the first time I have been sub-10 in a race in the last three years.

Training. Pure and simple. I needed more miles. I live in a hilly neighborhood. More miles would have made a difference. Could I have tamed that course if I was in the condition I was in last year? I did 28:30 (9:10 pace) at Bath. Maybe.

My finish line hug with the boy almost made me cry. He's such a sweetheart (when I don't feel like choking him). Visited with a hometown friend. A bagle. A wonderful hug from #150, Brooks Michael. She was terrified before going in the water. I was happy to help calm her down. She did great; handily beat me. Proud for her.


This has not been a good year for training. Listing it out here only so I'll remember it later, the January job change, the two funerals, the back pain around the lipomas in my back flaring up so badly I thought I'd need surgery and costing me the month of March, a decent April and a good 5K, then the shoulder injury in late April. Still I had a good swim and a decent bike. I actually know what I am doing. I don't feel like a beginner. I was not in the shape I needed to be to have a better outcome. I know what I need to do. It's called work.


The volunteers and the folks at the Salem Y rolled out the red carpet. That's the way they do things in my hometown. First class. Tons of volunteers. Police at every intersection. Water stations.

I thought a lot about this and engaged in a lively forum thread over this concern after the race. If you are considering Salem for 2012 and the course is unchanged, here's my opinion: the run course is disproportionately difficult for how the race is billed and the other two legs. You really need to be prepared for the withering hills and know they are coming if you are a BOPer/aspiring MOPer like me if you want to maximize your performance.

All-in-all, it is a lovely minisprint in a wonderful town I proudly call home.