Devil's Challenge - TriathlonSprint

I was prepared for much worse. I did not like the sensation of chest constriction provided by the wetsuite when I really tried to swim hard. I needed to back off or I was going to hyperventilate. Nerves also played a significant role in this feeling I'm sure.

Train in the wetsuite before the race. Consider wearing a suite with short sleeves and legs OR no wetsuite at all if the water is warm enough.

Short of having to deal with an injury, I don't know how a transition could be worse. I spent too much time thinking. My stuff had gotten all knocked around by someone came late to the race and decided to cram in next to me. I was frusterated and knocked off my game. I put on my socks then running shoes, took my bike down, realized I needed to put on my bike shoes, reracked my bike, took off my running shoes, put on my bike shoes, grabbed my bike and ran to start of the bike mounting area.

Check my transition area one last time before the race to insure no one has messed it up. Get rid of any extra stuff that I might need, but is not necessary. Consider changing my pedals from clipless to cages for a sprint tri so I can keep the same shoes for both transitions. Settle down and be focused.

Mounted the bike and found that my chain was off, so it did not start well. Very Hilly. Glad I rode it the week before the race. Settled in for the big climb up DL. This hill seems to go on forever. Lots of people walking their bikes. Had to dismount once and push a few feet myself to avoid rider who fell in front of me after loosing momentum on hill climb. Second hill that almost rivals the first on Tower Rd. Nice big downhill on Newman Rd. I think I reached 46 mph. Tons of fun but grueling. I'm happy I did a lot of hill work leading up to the race.

I'd do even more hill work. I'm not sure that you can over train for these hills. Drinking more water and taking a Gu during the race would have helped.

T2 was much better than T1, but still left something to be desired.

Organize better. Make sure that some bozo doesn't knock your stuff all out of place before the race.

I knew going into it that this was going to be tough for me. It was about as I expected. I am not a strong runner. Legs were more tired than I was prepared for. During transition from bike muscles to running muscles it felt like my legs were going to explode.

Train more and then train again. Practice that transition between biking and running. Wear an Ipod as I did when I was training or try training without the Ipod. Practice running hills. The tread mill and flat bike trail training that I limited myself to did not help me in this race. I should carry a water bottle. I'm not very good at drinking from a cup while running.

Chatted with friends. Couldn't find a water bottle fast enough.


Practice and preparednes. Fitness level still isn't what it should be.


I struggled, but it wasn't the race's fault. I'll definately be back. Doing well here in the future will be very rewarding. The event was very well done. Kudos to everyone involved with the exception of the racer next to me in the transition station.