Saratoga Splash - Pool Sprint - TriathlonMini Sprint

I need to learn. Of 120 some odd people...I was 94th or so out of the water. Old ladies where laughing at me.

Learn how to swim first. I struggled mightily.

This went relatively well, I thought this one went fast, but apparently it didn't. I could easily take 30 seconds off my transitions...

Practice. Figure out what should go where in what order.

I felt comfortable. The swim took a lot out of me initially. I had to slow down a little bit due to let things catch up. Probably a mile's worth of riding 18-19mph. After that, the first out and back was fine, I think my average speed was pretty high. The second out and back (to the south) was pretty...bleh. I slowed waaay down for the speed bumps, had difficulties with my gel pack exploding all over me, and for some reason I just cruised the hills.

Improve bike fit, come out of the water in better HR condition. That's a big one. Perhaps get some aero bars? Be a little more aggressive with the ride. After the first out and back, I got a little too comfortable, started cruising and not really racing. After I thought about it, I dropped the hammer towards the last mile or two...but I could have about 2-3 miles before that.

I dunno. This one felt slower than the other one. I thought for sure this one would have been longer. Again, practice.

Positioning of goods, only putting out what I know I'll need. Practice

Calf muscle cramped to the first turn. Didn't allow me to pick up any pace. After I got on the trail, it seemed to go away. I had no idea how I was doing, and I think I kept my HR a little too low. Could probably have done it in sub 20 if I was smart about it.

More training. I don't have my legs back yet. I should have tightened my shoe laces, and perhaps had my pacing machine hooked up. Battery died, so I couldn't tell what my pace was.

Walked around. Oddly enough, I felt like a million bucks after. Legs are getting a little sore now that I think about it...but I felt fine after. . .


1.) Lack of swimming (only been swimming 4 weeks)
2.) Lack of aerobic conditioning (only been training 4 weeks)
3.) Bike setup
4.) Nerves.
5.) A 8 minute 250 swim is unacceptable. Should have taken me half the time (4 minutes saved)
6.) Proper bike fit and no issues with my gel packs (3 minutes saved)
7.) Figure out why my calf cramped the first .5 mile of the run (1-2 minutes saved)
8.) Transition practice (:30 x 2)

That's what, almost 10 minutes I could have saved if I were to really think about it. . .grr.

I have to give myself credit. This was my first Triathlon ever. My first swim competition ever. I've only been training for 4 weeks and I still finished 4th, and won the age group. I guess I can't really complain about it. . . .but I have a LOT of work to do to get where I want to.


The perfect race for a beginner. Crowd support was great. The race was not too big, not too threatening. The walk through was cool too. Desert Sharks put on a great race.

The only gripe? Milliseconds had the times wrong initially. They said I had done an hour and 39 minutes, which was obviously wrong. They fixed it mid awards ceremony and said I won my age group with a 1:08. Milliseconds has now posted that it was a 1:05. What? How many times is it going to change? Was someone just guessing? They said and did nothing to tell people about the times were pending or something or whatever. I wasn't too happy about it. They wound up giving the overall trophies to 3 guys that probably didn't actually get them.

Even still, some of the times are wrong and/or are duplicated.