Riverstock Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

A little disappointing time-wise. Overall I felt comfortable - mild feeling of panic right at the beginning but settled down and was fine even after taking a heel to my left lens. I found myself drifting right quite a bit and was always to the outside of the main pack, so I definitely didn't get any draft and probably swam a little farther than I needed to. Not a disaster, by any means, just not my best navigating ability. Also never really got my kick going - something I've struggled with since I started swimming. I'm a very pull oriented swimmer, unfortunately, and when I try to generate a useful kick it sometimes throws my rhythm completely off. Time was ok for me, but was hoping for better. The current didn't feel very strong to me, but there had been a lot of rain and the river looked high - the long stretch upstream may have had something to do with my time being slower than I had planned.

This was my first Oly length swim leg ever - I trained mostly just to finish the distance and not as much for speed. More drills and more time with Coach Mary would be helpful. I got a pair of fins to work on my kick, but haven't used them often - time to get to work! I also think if I could have stuck with the pack of swimmers that had been to my left for a lot of the race, I could probably have saved some energy and maybe improved my time

I felt ok, but not great coming out of the water. Once I hit the rack I got very dizzy and had to lean against it while I was getting out of my wetsuit. Had some trouble getting my wetsuit off - the ankle timing chips always seem to catch on the ankle. Bobbled with my gloves a bit, but got my helmet and sunglasses on ok. I'm ok running with the bike, but not comfortable jumping on to it - I guess I should practice. My current strategy is to run just past the dismount, stop, get on the bike, strap in one foot, start pedaling and then strap in the other once I get moving.

I think generating a kick in the swim may help with the dizziness a bit - I've noticed the races where I've had ok kick I haven't had as much of an issue. Asking my body to suddenly start pumping blood to my legs after they haven't done anything for 30 minutes might be asking too much. Finding a way to go gloveless would probably help a little. I should probably practice the jumping onto the bike thing

I really worked on my bike since my last race, and I think it paid off. I passed 3-4 people and only got passed by one, which was a big improvement from previous races. I was a little worried about the hills on this course, but my new training routes this summer prepared me well and I felt much better than in previous races over the entire course, and especially the hills. Volunteers overall did a good job with traffic control and patrolling the course. I had one issue with traffic control near the end, where one volunteer was motioning me to turn left while the volunteer right behind him was letting traffic through, and I had to come to a complete stop to avoid becoming a hood ornament on an F150.

Hmm, not much during the race. I used my aero bars for the first time in a race on the smooth flat sections - I would like to get more comfortable with them and use them more - I feel faster and in a more comfortable position when I'm on them, just not as stable. I still feel new to cycling and think I need to rack up more miles before I know exactly what I need to do with my training...besides find more hills.

My first race with my Yankz, and I think they save me some time. I should start racing sockless - that probably takes the most time. My transition spot was the end of the rack next to the bike in/out and run out, so I saved some time by showing up early and getting a good spot :-)

Try the sockless thing, learn how to jump off my bike.

I felt ok during the run - fairly relaxed, not laboring. I only caught one person - I'm usually good to pass at least a few during the run - this might be due to my better than average bike keeping me ahead of the slower runners during that portion as well as the smaller size of the race - just not as many people to race! Once I hit the turn around at the end of King Street, I could see one runner quite a ways ahead of me, and set my sights on him. I caught him with about 200 yards to go and accelerated to the finish. The aid stations could have been paced a little better - fortunately the weather was beautiful, and after being used to training in the summer heat and humidity, the fall-like weather made overheating not as big of an issue.

I didn't train much specifically for this run, as I was working on my bike a lot this summer and just didn't make the time to fit more run training in. I think a few more bricks might have helped, as well as some more specific 6-7 mile runs for speed.

Met my family, walked around, did a little bit of stretching, then broke down my transition and waited for the awards. Had a granola bar, some water, some Gatorade and some watermelon.


Time and training mostly - I think I raced just about as well as I could at my current fitness level.


This was the first time this particular group organized this triathlon, and I think overall they did a good job. The swim and bike courses were fantastic - the bike course was very scenic - and I liked the run, as well. The weather was absolutely perfect! Their choice of bike route led to a lot of turns, some of which were not staffed with volunteers and could have been missed if you weren't paying attention to the marks on the road and pylons. The run course could have used a few more markers - it was a simple design for the most part with very few turns, but I appreciate a few markers to make sure I'm going the right way. There was also some controversy that the 1st and 2nd overall finishers may have cut the run course short - I don't believe on purpose, but I think because they probably didn't pay close attention to the pylon markers. There was no confirmation of this rumor, but my family members were pretty sure they saw the 2 off the marked run course. Post-race activites were a bit boring - the only food I saw were hoagies (foot longs) and water melon. Not that I don't appreciate it, but after a long morning of physical activity my stomach usually isn't ready for an entire hoagie. I would definitely do the race again - great course with some difficult logistics that I think experience on the part of the course organizers will resolve.