Tree Fest Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

They started all 85 racers in one wave due to the small size of the field. My 12 y/o daughter was racing her first adult-length (she's an accomplished youth triathlete), and so I had fun watching her take off. She's an amazing swimmer, and exited the water as the 3rd overall athlete, only 6 seconds behind a swim specialist doing one leg of a team and only 1 second behind an elite female triathlete.

For me, the swim was fine, with little to note except that I got a bit wide after the turn and could have shaved off some time by keeping a better line. (daughter beat me out of the water by 2:05)

It was also my wife's first full-length sprint, and first open water swim. She got the expected anxiety about half-way around the course, but finished strong on the swim and was happy to get on the bike.


Swim a straighter line.
Pracitce with the 12 y/o more.

T-1 was good for me. When I arrived, my daughter was well gone from transition, and I was very proud to hear that she had come out of the water 3rd.

I rode hard to catch my daughter by mile 4, and then continued with a pretty good effort for a 12 mile time-trial. I passed a lot of people (better swimmers) and wasn't passed once. I made up a lot of time on the bike. I'm about 15 weeks out from Ironman Louisville, and I guess the added miles are starting to show some results. My legs are feeling pretty strong.

My daughter averaged 18.6 for a 12 mile TT, which is impressive for someone of her size (tiny). She's been able to hold 16+ in training, so her race pace was a good bit higher. I think it was the adrenalin of being out in front, running from her father for 4 miles, and then chasing me for the next 8 (and running from Mom, too).

My wife averaged slightly less than 18 for her first 12 mile TT. Nothing wrong with that.


I always think I could have ridden harder. But who knows ...

Took my time.
I was ahead of the family members, so I was in no real hurry.

speed it up a little. My daughter, trained to speed through transitions as a youth in very short races, blew through T-2 in :33, less than half my time.

The race leaders were way out in front, so I knew I wasn't going to run anyone down that was in front of me. I felt like there was someone in my age group close behind me, and figured he would stalk my run until the final mile or less. With that in mind, I held a little back, waiting for him to catch and maybe pass me. I wanted to be able to match his pace and have a kick for the finish. A few younger runners passed me, and one older, but the one in my group never made his move. So with a mile to go I started picking it up, and with a half-mile left I was running pretty well. In the end, the stalker finished 11 seconds behind me and I had my first A/G win in 10 years of racing (and plenty left in the tank). That's not a testament to my strength, but rather to the small size of the field.

Meanwhile, my 12 y/o daughter smoked a 23:13 run to finish as the second overall female in adult race. She's an amazing athlete, and I couldn't be prouder. Likewise, my wife had a good run and finished in second in her A/G. So overall, three of us took two firsts and a second in our age groups, and the 12 y/o finished as the 2nd overall female. A pretty good day!

The start was about 30 minutes late, but might be because there was a good bit of rain the night before when the workers would otherwise be setting up.