The September Super Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

My time here is an estimation. There was no electronic timing, and I did not wear a stopwatch, so all I know for sure is my total time. I more or less know the bike time from the bike computer, and my run time cause I saw the course clock as I left transition, but the swim and 2 transitions are somewhat of a guess based on typical practice times and how I felt. Anyway, it was a great swim!! I was bumped a bit at the beginning, but I ended up on the feet of a woman in a 2xu suit (that's all I know about her!) that was going about my pace. I followed her about 1/2 way, then pulled out to go around when she pulled up for a little rest. We ended up swimming the rest of the way side by side which was pretty cool. There were a few other folks around us, but it was mostly a very mellow swim. Sighting went perfectly, I felt great, and despite being fairly slow, that's just how fast I can swim right now so I'm very happy with the performance. I tried to up the pace for the last 50y or so by kicking a bit, but mostly just kept my pace where I know I can swim comfortably. According to spectators, I exited about mid pack. I grew up waterskiing so I've always liked the water, but I never formally learned to swim. I read Total Immersion and started swimming a few months ago, and feel like I've really come a long ways. Very happy with my swimming at this point!

Nothing, I felt great!

Short run from the lake up grass to the transition area in a parking lot. Everything went according to plan, and just like practice. Helmet on, socks on, bike shoes on, grab bike and GO! I ran with the bike to the mount line (mountain bike shoes, so they are easy to run in), then got on the slow way, no flying mounts for me yet!

i dunno, it went real smoothly. I don't think I'd do anything different.

My objetive here was to keep my heart rate between 158 and 162. Based on my training, I know that any higher and I very quickly die. It worked great. As a result of the HR monitor, I was hammering the downhills harder than normal, and going a bit slower up the hills than normal. But, I passed at least as many as passed me, and finished feeling tired, but strong. I remember feeling great coming to the turnaround, then realizing that after turning around we were now facing a decent headwind. That sucked, but I just dropped a gear and kept my heart rate right where I needed to. It really took all the decision making out of the ride! There was a sizeable hill at mile 7, and I passed three other bikes up it, even though I felt like I was not pushing hard. I was riding a 20 year old mountain bike with slicks, btw. I saw my wife pass the other way just after the turnaround (she was doing her first tri also), that was cool. I had a bottle of gatorade on the bike, I drank maybe 10 ounces in the first half of the ride, then no more. I don't like running with anything in my stomach. I averaged a good 2mph higher than I usually do in normal rides. I attribute this to a few things, 1) focus. No sightseeing, no mental wandering, just pedal and watch the heart rate monitor. 2) fairly flat course. I live in a pretty hilly area, despite being rolling hills in the race, it was a faster course than I normally ride around home. 3) lighter weight bike. I removed my rack and side panniers which are usually full of tools and stuff. Probably pulled 10 pounds off the bike prior to the race.

Get a better bike? No, nothing really. I think it went very well.

I did not do a flying dismount, but it was still quick-ish. I ran with the bike to the rack, put on my running shoes (one of the laces got slightly caught up in the tounge), took off the helmet, and grabbed my hat and race belt. I put on the hat and belt while running.

I was a bit bothered by the shoe laces. I'm going to experiment with other lace options that don't require futzing with laces. Other than that, it went great.

As I headed out on the run, I saw the official clock and could see I had almost exactly 20 minutes to make the run to break one hour. A 10 minute mile is what I typically run in training, so I was exctited that I may be able to break 1 hour, but I also knew it was a hilly course, and of course I'd just swam and ridden... I'd done one brick bike/run during training, but it was a short run. I'd never done a full 2 miles after riding. Anyway, I had to slow waaaay down at the start to get my heart rate back under 162, it had spiked a bit running out of transition. I nearly walked, but just kept up a slow jog until it settled. From there, I just ran. I alternated looking up at the horizon, looking at my watch (for the HR), and saying hi to the folks running the other way (a nice distraction). I again crossed paths with my wife after the turnaround, that was cool. My legs felt fine, I had no side cramps (an occasional issue for me at about the 1 mile mark), and I felt like I was right on track. I was passed by several folks, and did not pass anyone on the run. What can I say, I run slow... When I got into sight of the finish like, I saw the clock read 1:04:15! I knew my wave started 5 minutes after the first wave, so I had less than a minute to get in under one hour! Heart rate be damned, I kicked as hard as I could and sprinted to the finish. My form went to hell, my heart kicked over 170, but I crossed with 4 seconds to spare! Very cool, I totally wasted myself right there, but why not? it was, after all, the very end of the race. May as well blow it out.

Again, nothing. It was as good a run as I could hope for.

grabbed a vitamin water from a volunteer and hugged my kids! I walked around for a while and stretched while waiting to cheer my wife to the line.


general fitness, form, training, me myself and I.


Such a well run weekend, TBF knows what they are doing and put on an awesome event for newbies like us! We all had such a fantastic time, there is no doubt we'll be back there next year!