Iron Girl Columbia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

this was a deep water/treading start but I stayed where I could just put my toes on the bottom until about the 1 minute to go call, then started to make my way over to the pack. Stayed to the outside (right) the whole way and had almost no contact with other swimmers. I usually felt like I was swimming alone, so I was probably too far right the whole way.

Less than half way into the swim I felt my cap working its way off my head and soon after it came off completely. I managed to grab it as it slid down my back and shoved it into my shorts. I continued the swim but from there on out my hair get getting in my face and obscured my vision when I was sighting. I also kept wondering if I could be disqualified for swimming without a cap.

By the time I got out of the water I felt like I had been swimming for ever. I had forgotten to turn on my watch so I didn't have a clue how I did. Later heard everyone complaining about poor/slow times and consensus is that the course was around 200m too long.

stay a little closer to the pack; maybe start wearing my goggles over my cap.

Since this was a relay my biker, Regina was ready and waiting at the rack. I sprinted from the water for all I was worth and my runner, Jenny, made the chip transfer and Regina was out of TA like a shot.

T1 rank: 8/56 relay, 11/1730 0verall

Regina and I rode the route together a few weeks ago and did it in 1:02:++, a day after she has ridden 60 miles so I knew she could do this around an hour with rested legs.

She had a great ride! She was passed by one woman at the top of the steepest climb but passed her back shortly after and wasn't passed by a single other person. She was all smiles as she ran the bike through TA to the rack :)

Regina had an accident during a bike commute about 10 days before the race and she was still bruised and sore from that. I'm sure she could have done it even faster without that handicap!

Again, since this was a relay Jenny and I were waiting at the rack and Jenny was all ready to run. I had to get people out of Regina's way so she had a clear run to the rack. As soon as Regina stopped I was pulling off the chip and transferring it to Jenny.

T2 rank: 12/56 relay, 37/1730 0verall

Jenny thought she could do the distance in 34:++ but wanted to do it in 30:++. However, she had never seen the course and underestimated the hills. When my watch said she was at 35+ I knew she wasn't going to be happy.

Get Jenny to practice the course ;)

lots of hugging, picture taking


swim course too long, swimmer just too slow
injured biker
runner not prepared for the reality of the route


Best race vibe around! All the swim starts were delayed due to traffic problems. Relays started in the last wave, around 1.5hrs after the race had started; I didn't like that. It was fun to have teammates to root for but I'm not sure I'd do another relay.