Jacksonville Triathlon Series Sprint #3 - TriathlonSprint

The waves were really strong. I got knocked really hard on the way out, swallowed some water and got some up my nose and was really surprised my goggles didn't come off. Once I got out to the first buoy which was beyond where the waves were breaking, I did some backstroking to get my breathing under control and calm down. I flipped over and swam pretty well on the across section and back into to shore. I expended a lot more energy that I expected fighting the waves.


Learn to go swim under waves if they are breaking forcefully.

I was probably pretty slow here, but I was focused. I don't feel like I wasted time being lost. I was methodical and also recovering a little from the swim. I could definitely be faster, but it was my first real transition, so I am ok with how I did.

Sit down to clean my feet and get my shoes on. I didn't dry my feet very well and ended up biking and running in very wet socks.

I started out good, doing about the speed I expected. I started getting tired around mile 7 and really had to start talking to myself to keep up the pace.

I need to get more in the aero position, by either changing out my straight handle bars or getting clip on aero bars.

I was moving very wobbly coming off the bike. I couldn't run at all at first. I had to walk the first 30ft or so. My right knee was giving me little fits.

Practice more running with my bike, particular after riding for a while.

I felt really defeated for the first half of the run. It was HOT. I don't do HOT very well. I had planned on doing 5 min run, 2 min walk intervals just I had done in training. But with the heat and my just general lack of umph and energy, I walked a lot of the first section. It was such a head game for me. And it took about half the run course for me to tell myself to get my head out of the dumps. I was finally able to pull off a 4.5 min run section after the first mile marker and my spirits started to lift. I was ok with walking if I knew I had done my best, and up until that point, I knew I had not done my best. So I started running more. At first I was counting telephone phones..."run 3, walk 2" etc. It really helped me mentally push through the heat and bad thoughts. The last section of road had orange cones in the middle of the road. And I used those to run by. I would run to the next cone, walk to the one after and so on. There were signs that said 400ft, 300ft, 200ft and 100ft before the finish line. I thought those signs were wonderful. I started running at about 450ft out and across the finish line. It was really awesome to hear my name called out as I finished and see my friends and family there.

Try not to get so down if I can't take off like I planned. Set the mini-goals in the beginning to get moving more.

Drank gatorade and water, and found some shade.


I was really thrown off by the impact of the ocean swim. It took up more of my energy than I had really alloted. I need to train at longer distances in the swim for better endurance. I also don't think I ate enough. It is so hard for me to eat first thing in the morning. I was in a hotel room, so I didn't have the resources to make myself a smoothie, which I really think would have helped with the extra calories and protein. Oh yeah, and the heat was a killer too on the run.


Once I crossed the finished line and realized that I did only a few minutes over my original goal of 1hr 45min, and less than the new goal I made while I was running of 2hr, I felt pretty happy. I did enjoy my experience. And it was a huge learning curve for me. Not only do I have some physical things to work on, I realize I also have to work on my mental strategy too. The race was run very well. All of the organizers and volunteers were so nice and supportive. I never realized how far just a few encouraging comments can go in helping me push just a little harder.