Nation's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Very crowded field, trouble sighting bc of glare on the water, never really got into a rhythm with steady strokes or breathing. Felt choppy and i was afraid of drinking too much Potomac water. After not swimming for 6 weeks, happy with performance but not surprised by lack of ease. Lots of driftwood from earlier waves in the water floundering. Moderately frustrating. First time in a wetsuit and the buoyancy threw off my stroke--backstroke felt faster and easier to keep heart rate down. Switched off regularly whenever i could sight 20 yards without driftwood bodies from other waves.

Get in the pool in the preceding 6 weeks to the race.

For my first wetsuit experience, I'm happy with how quickly I removed it. Could do better, but wasn't bad. Slight fatigue added time to drying feet and getting into shoes.

Practice wetsuit removal repeatedly.

my best bike so far--fastest, smoothest, etc. finally feel like i'm learning the cycle. toes were numb towards the second half of ride, indicating fatigue and a less-than-ideal pedal stroke once tired.

very little--this race gave me a good starting place for next year's goals.

very crowded dismount and run into T2--felt blocked off from a clear path I could've run through at a quicker pace. legs felt better than anticipated once off the bike. bit of a pause for watering before heading out on the run.

learn to do a fancy dismount (?)

never raced this long before, was holding back from normal race pace (7:20-7:35ish) deliberately to test endurance legs. kept a 7:40 pace until mile 4--hit a bit of a wall, not many other "runners" out near me--lots of "joggers/finishers". started doing minute pick-ups, 30 sec back at a relaxed pace until mile 5.5--gradual pick-up and left everything out on the course. cardio felt fine, muscles sore. didn't have my strongest finishing kick. Feet were numb for most of the run.

run the course a few times beforehand, noting mile markers. more middle-distance combined with speed workouts. I've been doing pure speed tailored for a 5k race and then long 10-12 milers at an 8:45 pace. Something in the middle could've helped. Better sneakers=less numbness in my feet?

shoes OFF. water IN. meet fam, scurry under tarp to grab things out of transition, hike back to the Watergate, SUPER POLLO and beer.


not being able to train because of a rolled ankle for most of august. neglecting my pool training. never racing a 10k before.


i would've enjoyed the metro starting to run earlier or an option to rack my bike sunday. as a local it was difficult to utilize alternative transportation to get to the race site.