Hickory Knob Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My swim was terrible!! I couldn't believe how slow I was going. My first 50-100 meters was very quick and that cost me the rest of the swim. I could never get my breathing down and never got my face in the water. I was just glad to get out of the water when it was over. The climb up the hill from the dock to the TA area is steep and a tough run, but to be on ground it was worth it!

Swim, swim and more swimming. I didn't start swim training until 8/24 and back then I could only swim 50M without taking a break. I knew I needed more swim training, but now I know I need to focus on swim training a BUNCH!

Overall I'm happy with my T1. I was so beat from the swim that I was glad to catch my breath. I decided to force on my socks since I wasn't looking for blisters on my feet during the run. I put on my sunglasses then had to stop and take them off due to them be fogged up. I should have decided the order I was going to put items on before hand (I know, obvious!!)

I was able to get the top of the wesuit off running up the hill to the TA. The rest of it came off fine in the TA. Put on a running shirt, forced on socks over wet feet, put on my cycling shoes, put on helmet, buckled strap and took off.

Main thing I will do better is decide the order PRIOR to race time. Overall I could cut 30 seconds I'm sure, but that's about it.

I was still beat from the swim when I started off. Pace was good but had some left in reserve. After the first mile or two I caught my breath and regrouped. Then I hit the main big hill in the middle of the ride and I decided to kill the hill. I went up way to hard and passed plenty going up. Problem was I thought I was going to fall off at the top of the hill. I pushed to hard to early on that hill. It took the next 2 miles to regroup yet again. 4 miles in I finally remembered to reset my computer (duh!). For the last 6 miles I averaged 17.8 mph. My overall pace was 16.8mph which shows how rough those first 4 miles were.

Should have taken it easier on the major hill and not get that out of shape. Other then that, just swim better so I could have pushed harder on the bike.

T2 went fast, I got off the bike, ran into the TA, racked it kicked off my cycling shoes and put on my running shoes. EZ laces make all the difference. Picked up my race belt and took off. I put on the belt as I was running out.

Only thing I can do differently is learn to do a flying dismount. The actual TA area was fine, just need to get off the bike quicker.

Legs were tired after the bike. Went out fine and got my legs under me about mile 1. Then at the aid station I took a cup of water and electrolyte fluid. Problem is that I've NEVER drank electrolyte fluid. At mile 2.5 or so my stomach was feeling bad and I wanted to vomit. I really think the electrolyte fluid didn't sit well with me. The last hill was looking rough, but as I went up the hill it felt great to see the finish line.

Not drink any electrolyte fluid. It was only a 5K run so that was a BAD experiment on my part.

Drank 2 bottles of water pretty quickly. This showed me I didn't take in enough fluid on the bike/run.


My swim, period. I've had less then 60 days in the pool and it really showed in the race. I just wasn't comfortable. My focus this winter will be to get much better on the swim and mainly on my breathing while swimming.


This is my only race so far so nothing to compare it to. This is almost a 2 hour drive from my house and I will definitely go back next year. Love the area and even though the course is tough, its still awesome to finish a demanding course like this.