Papillion Mayor's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Pretty good start to the race for me. I was the only athlete who wore a full sleeve wet suit. There were plenty of others who wore a sleeveless suit, but most athletes didn't wear any because it was such a short swim and because the water temp. was so high. Had they taken the temp., they wouldn't have allowed us to wear a suit according to USAT rules I'm sure. Anyhow, as usual, lots of contact at the beginning of the race, but the contact continued for me throughout the race. Nothing terrible, just a lot of rubbing against others. Even after we hit the turn around point to come back home for the second half. I was pleased with the swim but I had hoped to have gone even faster since I was wearing a wetsuit. I actually started to get hot in it right towards the end so it was a good thing it was only a 500 meter swim.

Swim harder throughout which is my normal response. However, my time this year was actually 9 seconds slower than my time two years ago when I didn't wear a suit. I just need to continue my OWS and have more confidence in the water. Still, this was a good way to start out the race.

I've really become good at the transitions over the past four years. Today my T1 was the 4th fastest. It would have been even faster had I not dropped my swim cap and had to back track about three feet to get it. This cost me probably 3-5 seconds so no big deal but still. Anyhow, I was able to get the suit down to my waist by the time I got to my bike rack, and then I got it off really fast because of the Pam I had sprayed on beforehand while I was putting on my helmet. I also went with no socks so I was gone from the rack before I knew what had happened. Coming out of the swim I was in 20th place but after T1 and the first 5 minutes of the bike ride I had moved up to 10th place already so this was really a strength for me.

Not drop my swim cap. I think I also dropped my goggles too as I can't find them anymore. I tried just pulling them into the sleeve of my wet suit but I think from no on I'll just carry them so I don't have to worry about dropping them and/or losing them.

As usual, the bike is what makes or breaks you in a race. I had a very good ride. Started hard after I got my feet in the shoes after the first hill and passed several people within the first five minutes. Then I continued to gain on a few more athletes the last 2 1/2 laps. Took a gel at the start of the 3rd lap. I believe I finished the bike portion in 7th place overall so I was doing fairly well.

One time I got overzealous on the trails and went oo hard going around a curve and I ended up going off the trail onto the grass. That was stupid because going faster there would have saved me about two seconds and it nearly cost me a crash and at least 30 seconds if not the race. Also, I think I could have pushed harder on the roads, especially on the hills but since that's not fun I backed off a little on those stretches of the race.

Another very good transition for me. Tied for 6th fastest T2 on the day.

Nothing.

Above average run for me. My legs were tired after the bike but I set my sites on two guys who were in front of me thinking I could catch them. About half a mile in, I realized they were widening the gap on me instead of me shortening it on them. I also then realized that there were two guys closing on me from behind and there was nothing I was going to be able to do about that. They passed me going up the hill about about the 1.25 mile mark. At this point, I changed my focus hanging on to break 20 minutes but that changed too as I stared to feel the heat. Finally, once I hit the turn around point and saw that I had a fairly large gap over the next nearest athlete, I locked it into cruise control until the last quarter mile or so where I pushed a little harder.

Once again, push harder throughout. I couldn't have gone a whole lot faster but I think I could have gone 20:30 or so. I also need to do more bricks and push hard on the run instead of just doing them to do them.

Rested, drank some water, cheered on more finishers, walked around with Rob and Tyler.


Not too much. This was one of my better races and maybe even my best one but it's hard to compare, especially when courses change from year to year. Even still, I can improve in all three disciplines still, especially the swim and run, in hopes of continuing to improve.


Kudos again to the Papillion Rec. Department. This event continues to grow more and more each year.