Scenic 17 Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I didn't drown. I didn't intentionally draft either, but I did get stuck behind 2 ladies for awhile. And then I ran into a guy using a snorkle, which made me feel a little better about my swim. The water was a nice temperature, although there was minimal visibility.

I'm pretty darn happy, considering I couldn't actually swim in any sort of organized fashion 2 months ago.

My plan was to really rock the transitions, as I didn't figure I'd rock the actual race. And I succeeded. Too bad they don't rank transision, or I would have been 1/4.

Not much. The tips here were great.

Due to sweaty hands, I managed to drop my water bottle about a half-mile into the bike. It was getting quite warm and the sun was really beating down. And I spent the next 52 minutes thinking about how I needed to slow my breathing and conserve fluid. I passed a handful of people, a handful passed me. It was a pretty small field, though.

There are really no hills where I live, or train, for that matter. They managed to find some sweeping ones on this course that did make me work. Now, I still stayed in my big ring, unlike where I first started riding in SW Missouri and used the super-duper Granny gear frequently.

I probably should have trained more, but since I started out as a cyclist, handling wasn't much of a concern. It's just like riding a bike, heh heh. Although having my beloved camelback would have been much sweeter, and I could have enjoyed it a little more.

Can I just say that Lock Laces are the Best. Thing. Ever.

It was a blazing T2 for me, perhaps the highlight. Or perhaps the water station at the end of it.

Not much. Did I mention that I love those laces?

Eh, started with a nice easy pace, mostly because it was really hot and I didn't want to get hurt. I have run plenty longer than this 5K, but I was definitely feeling it. I'm not a fast runner by any sense of the word, and actually felt like I could have done another 3 miles, but couldn't possibly go any faster. My pace was a smidge slower than my half-mary PR of 2:15, but given the weather and dehydration from the bike, I felt it was a decent effort.

I actually incorporated some speed work in the last couple of months, but couldn't really tell if it helped. I think more outside running (vs the treadmill) would have been good, but with my work schedule, I wasn't able to train in the heat when it started getting hot (Oh, Feb/March) and really felt it. I've done that in the past, and it made running outside in the summer heat much more bearable.

Walking around, back to transition and a gently upper body massage. The legs felt great, but man, my arms were sore.


Crappy sleep? The fact that this was my first attempt at a tri, my first open water swim, I hadn't tackled hills on the bike or run much in the heat?

Lots of shoulda coulda, but overall, I'm pretty happy about it.


Did I mention that this was a small race? There were only 16 women competitors, and I think I was 7th. Which is fine with me. The other ladies in my age group were much more experienced, and I was welcomed and introduced to a bunch of people.

Not a bad first race at all.