Summer Super Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

The swim didn't go well. I didn't factor in the lane changes. It's a lot harder than it looks. If you are doing laps in your community pool, you catch your breath when you lane touch and head back. Going under the dividers is the exact opposite. About five laps in, I got stuck between guys overtaking me and a guy dog paddling. Between the lane dividers and the traffic jam, my form was completely gone. I ended up doing a couple of backstroke legs because I was gasping. Went into the water shooting for eight minutes, came out of the water at ten minutes. Very disappointing.

I would have practiced in my pool by going under the water and holding my breath for three seconds at the end of each lap. I also would have registered at 10 minutes. So disappointing.

I sat down to put on my shoes. I have cages on my pedals so I use my running shoes on the bike. I felt pretty orderly about it.

I didn't rush. I could have moved faster. Maybe a day will come when I care about seconds here. For now, I'd like to just shave time by doing the same things more quickly.

The bike portion was a two-lap circuit. It started with a quick loop out of the parking lot then a turn on to the main loop. I followed folks about 20 yards or so ahead of me into the turn. Just as I started my turn there was a biker on top of me. Apparently it was a very fast biker starting her second lap. I maneuvered and braked hard, but ended up on the ground.

A couple of race marshals helped me up. The bike seemed OK, and I was bleeding but not broken, so I forged on. I biked 7.5 miles with my handlebars askew, front brake caliper rubbing, and my rear derailleur hung up so I was limited to a choice of L2 or H2. I didn’t try to hop off and do any maintenance because of the probability I might not get back on.

I could have prevented the crash. Know the course. Pay attention to your surroundings at all times. Control yourself in the turn. I could have done all three better.

I got up and got it finished. Only by staying off the ground will I learn what I could really do there.

I wiped my knees with my towel. Blood everywhere. Just tried to keep moving. I got lost for a moment trying to find the exit from transition.

Know where the exit from transition is so you can stay focused even when things have gone awry.

About 50 yards into the run, my calves tried to cramp. I slowed up but kept moving My calves warmed back up, and I settled into a pace. If there's a silver lining it is that no one passed me on the run. The clock and the results suggest it was a good run.

Given what I'd been through to that point, nothing.

Cleaned up my bloody legs. Took a shower. Then made the trip home to shave my legs so I could bandage myself.


Inexperience in the pool hurt me there. A series of unfortunate events led to my bike crash. I so want a do-over to prove what I really have in me.


Since it's my first race I'm struggling with what I should say about the evaluation. After to talking to a few people, I'm pretty certain the course setup was the biggest contributor to my crash. One of us shouldn't have been there. Either she should have bveen forced left or I should have been forced to yield.