Steamboat Express Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

Actual swim time in water (per watch) 7:48 (1:55 per 100 yds)--long run to transition. Water was warm...could have skipped wetsuit if goal for day wasn't to work on transitions. I self-seeded up front but outside a bit...generally got around buoy without too much contact, but did throw a gentle elbow at someone persistently swimming onto me. With about 75-100 yds to go, caught some of the previous wave and had to merge into BOP oly distance women coming in from their course from my right.

Not much. Not wear wetsuit. (The pre-race info had this at both 300 and 400 yds in different places. Based on my time in the water, I'm pretty sure it was actually 400 yds.)

Took more than 2 min. off T1 from first tri two weeks ago.

Not much...still defining my routine, though.

I had decided--since the run leg was going to be so short--to experiment with standing on the pedals for sections of steep grade. Found that was okay in small doses--had a good sense of when it was becoming too fatiguing.

Probably could have pushed it a bit harder.

Fell at dismount line when left foot got stuck on pedal--broke left wrist as it turned out...continued race...

Honestly, by the time I was tying my running shoes, my left wrist was in agony. If I'd taken any longer, I might not have gotten it done. But, I'd come this far...and I don't run on my hands...so off I went on the run...

Not break my wrist...

Seriously, though, in retrospect, I realize this was only the second time I'd done a dismount in a race and I've only been biking seriously for 9 months, so I should have practiced dismounting somewhere along the way in training.

In addition to running with a freshly-broken left wrist, I was experiencing serious discomfort in my left arch throughout. This was also the first trail racing I'd done since HS x-country 30 yrs ago. As was the case at Malibu, I passed quite a few people...this time no one passed me.

Might have pushed it more, but with broken wrist, painful arch, and challenge of terrain, I think I did okay.

Packed everything but bike to car and grabbed ice from our cooler in car for wrist (which was painful and swelling). Waited for Liz to finish and iced. I had enough range of motion that I had some hopes it was a sprain, but no such luck. I made a point, though, to stick around and enjoy the post-race food and reassure Liz that we didn't need to rush off to urgent care. Lifeguard was able to wrap my wrist which made a big difference.

Huge surprise when results went up: I won my AG, broken wrist and all.

(Photo below shows what finishing a sprint tri with a fractured left wrist looks like, btw...)


Actually, the arch pain was a bigger practical limiter than the broken wrist (since my fall happened literally at the end of the bike leg). The wrist pain actually kept me very focused on the run.

E.T.A. on 10/2: Now that splits are posted, it is glaringly apparent that I have to improve on the bike...and in transitions, which were included in the bike times. Out of 54 men in my swim wave (all 40+, Clyde, and MTB), I was 4th on the run, 8th on the swim...but barely sneaked into the top half of the wave (27th) on the bike. That I smoked most of my wave on the run WITH A BROKEN WRIST, but lagged on the bike/transitions (just like at Malibu) says it all.


This is a race specifically intended for beginners--there is an Olympic distance race run concurrently, sharing parts of course. The run course is really a trail run (no major hills, though)...organizers should be clearer about that (esp. given the high percentage of first-timers in the race). Despite some minor lags (parking lot opened late, race started about 1/2 hour late), I thought this was a very friendly and well organized event.