Anthem Holiday Classic (Swank!) - TriathlonSprint

As usual, was not very pleased with the swim. Since I do not flip turn, I lost time at every turn and especially at the ropes.

Learn to flip turn. Swim without a tri top - I think the loose pockets in the back of the tri top caused some drag. Continue to focus on interval workouts to improve speed.

T1 time is an estimate since the time chip included the T1 and T2 into the bike split. T1+Bike+T2 was 43:58. T1 of 3min is pretty close, because I had 2:38 when I starting running with my bike off the rack and out of the TA.

Put on extra gear because of the cold - head bib, socks, arm warmers, sport top, and bike gloves. I would have skipped all these if the weather was better.

Less gear

The 3 loops really annoyed me... too many turns every 4 miles. I couldn't get into my areobars and a rhythm as well as I could have with some longer straights. Hard to know the real time since T1 and T2 was part of the bike split and my bike computer was not working. This felt like a below average bike.

Need more power on the hills. No major hills on the course, but I slowed down too much on the ones with some elevation.

Possibly my best T2 ever! I already had my race belt on from T1, so only focus was to drop the helmet, head bib, slip off bike shoes, slip on run shoes, grab running hat and gone...
Two things to take away -- (1) lock laces are a must on running shoes, and (2) putting on the race belt on T1 helped.

Maybe remove shoes while on the bike. Overall, not a single hick-up on the transition.

Came out of T2 with alot of confidence because it was a smooth transition and had fast feet. There were no mile markers on the course so I couldn't tell my pace, but I knew it was somewhere sub-7min. My legs were still numb until Last mile started to hurt as I was overheating because of the extra clothing and the last water station was not supported. Got passed by one person around mile 2.5 and he was in my age group - really pissed me off, but I couldn't reel him in before the finish. On the turn toward the finish, my family was waiting and my 2 year old son started running after me -- good stuff! Overall I am pleased with this run -- it was a triathlon 5k PR!

Shed more clothing
Track workouts and bike-run bricks have been making a difference.

Crossed the finish and felt like I had a little left, but not much. Great to see the family, friends, and Sonic Fitness (Joe, Michael) at the end.


Slow swim and below average bike. Maybe I held back on the bike too much?


High entry fee for a sprint ($65), weak goodie bag, cold weather, pool swim, and the last drink station not being supported were negatives to this race. Facilities were nice and parking was plentiful and close to the TA. Not a big fan of pool swim tri's, so I probably will not participate in this race again.
My wife thought this race was the best from a spectator standpoint because the parking was close to the race, she could see the swim and the transition area.
Overall, I am happy with the finish time which is a sprint PR and ~10min faster than my last PR in 2006. The coaching and training from Sonic Fitness has made a huge difference - Thanks!