River Cities Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

The biggest part of the crowd lined up off to the left so I decided to take the ground saving route and lined up on the first buoy. I think I felt good on the entire swim and I swam a tight course with no significant trips off course. I drafted pretty good on the way out but on the way back I couldn't find someone close to draft. Goggles leaked alot and I had to clear them 3 or 4 times. 32 seconds slower than last year but a good swim.

I need to work on the goggles and make sure they are not leaking ahead of time.

Rack was first row into transition so the run out was long in bike shoes. Time was 32 seconds faster than last year, so I made up the swim deficit here. Only issue was a bad mount at the bike line, just so many folks in a tight spot and I missed the initial clip in.

I was 43 in age group and 374 overal in T1.

Makes me think about shoes on the pedals but am still okay with that decision.

I was 14 seconds slower than last year which was a little disappointing given the bike upgrade. I took a while to get moving and was much faster on the back half of the course. Passed 73 bikes and 2 people that passed me held the pass. I think the difference to last year comes on the decents, as fast as my bike goes on flat terrain, it doesn't seem to go as fast down hills as the old one. I was continually amazed at the number of folks who do not pedal going down hill. I was lucky to start in an early swim wave, heard lots of complaints after about pelotons but i didn't see any and I saw plenty of marshalls.

I rode well, no complaints. Hill work would help but the opportunities are limited for that here.

I screwed up here but was still 4 seconds ahead of last year. After dismount running into transition, I hit my watch to get my split, while rounding the curve I looked at watch to see split and bike shoes slid and me and bike crashed to the ground. Got a little road rash but jumped up and got transition done quickly. Actual transition went very smooth after mishap.

73 in age group and 636 overall. This was well below par for me.

Not look at my watch. Also probably should have taken feet out of shoes for the long run. I have generally decided not to do this, but this was a long run in.

Started the run 10 seconds behind last year and felt I had a good chance to beat this split. Very focused with positive self talk. My cadence felt good and I pushed really hard. The first mile came in at 8:58 and I knew I had a good chance. Its discouraging watching the people that you pass on the bike run you down, but I only lost 50 of the 70 so that the heck. Mile 2 came in at 9:20, then I hit the trail. I was careful on the trail, looking for the roots and bumps and making sure I avoid them. On the run up the clay road, I struggled but someone came by and picked me up with encouragement. Mile 3 was 10:34 but not complaining. Last .1km was 59 seconds. Ended up finishing in 29:51 which topped last year by 1.42 and last week by 53 seconds.

Get faster !!!!

Drank water then ran over to transition to see if Marcy was on the bike yet. She started 30 minutes behind me and she was leaving transition when I got there. Did my normal no stretching. The park had a good area to shower off so I did that and then headed to finish line. Cheered on friends and family.


Maybe I am a little overraced at this point, but I have no complaints.


Given the size of the race it is exceptionally well run. All 3 courses are well marked and I especially liked the miles being painted on the road on the bike. I wish everyone would do that. Plenty of food, great music, excellent race announcer, unrivaled goody bag, well marshalled bike course, very professionally done. The negatives are minimal but so you know, plan to arrive earlier than normal. The entry to the park and the parking area bottlenecks pretty bad and parking takes a while. They actually take parking tickets going into the park which slows the process even more. 1200 people on this size course is incredibly difficult and these guys do it wonderfully.