Tinsel Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I guess by time, swimming is my forte, not bad for a top 5 finish in this category, when I saw that, I was pretty psyched I still had it in me! I had some confusion getting into the pool, not sure if I should dive, or jump, then when the two guys next to me dove, I dove in as well. With the swim at the end, its almost like your body just gets tense as it hits the warm water. I quickly got blocked in during the first lap, then at the wall, wasn't sure if I had to touch the wall to turn, or not, so I kinda stood in a mini line waiting to touch the wall, since everyone else was. On the second lap, I was able to cruise a little easier, since it opened up. I've been thinking about going for a longer race with open water in the spring and this seemed like an accurate simulation. The third lap tightened up again, but the people next to me were a bit closer to the same pace.

I think just pick my route through the pool better, overall, I'm happy though with a 5th place Age group finish! It was an awesome event!

This was a reverse tri, so it was run>bike>swim. I was smooth out of the running shoes and into the bike shoes, but not as smooth jumping onto the bike after running out of transition. I think this comes with practice...

I need to work on my transition onto the bike more. I spent some time the week prior, maybe 40 minutes or so, practicing the jumping on and clipping in transition, but the race nerves made that controlled practice different. Clipless pedals are still new to me, so I just need to log the time in them and I think it will come around. When I did have trouble, I just had to take a deep breath and remember to be patient and less rushed (I learned this when I was practicing), and that control made things go smoother. Practice, practice, practice!

Since I really haven't ridden a bike other than a mountain bike, and just got a road bike about a week ago, I felt pretty good. (I just moved and was waiting to get here to purchase one). I really have to start logging miles on the bike though and develop my base in cycling. I definitely was jealous of all the people flying by on their bikes. Didn't realize drafting was legal in this race though, so I didn't draft, that would have probably been helpful with the winds. I had HEED in the water bottle, consumed about 12 ounces through this portion and felt like the hydration was good. I had to go pee about half way through, which also didn't help, debated whether or not to pee during the last 3 miles and I would have been better off just forgetting about it!

I would have tried to draft a bit more, and also just need to get my cycling speed up along with comfort on the road bike. I also should have pushed harder at the end, the swim didn't really need much energy left over.

This was a bit slower transition. I need to learn to do the shoes off as you come into transition skill. I also was lucky to have a good transition spot on the end of a rack that I could just slip my seat over the bar onto and have the space to shed my clothes for the pool. I forgot to take off my cycling shorts and probably would have been fine in them, but I ran maybe 15 yards, realized they were still on, took them off, ran them back, and then headed to the pool. Doh! Tri shorts might be a good idea! The transition I think could have been stronger.

Felt pretty good, but about half way through, I started to develop a tight stomach, unlike anything I've really had in training at the same pace. This actually lasted the rest of the day, and wasn't like cramping, but more GI in feeling. Tough to determine whether it was a food reaction or the exercise.

I expected to start stronger, and could have kept up my pace through the race, wish I wouldn't have had the stomach thing develop, but I persevered through it I think. I think keeping my 3rd mile closer to 7 minutes would have brought better success. I was expecting around a 7 min average and coming in around 21-22 minutes, so I was close to my target.

Just light stretching, rehydrating, and a light chicken salad after the race.


The weird stomach thing. I had a post on BT about this, and it seems to be something that sometimes happens to people, but I seriously think it was a reaction to bad prawns the night before. I also think my base level for cycling could use a bit of improvement.


It was my first race in 13 years, and I had a blast! Everyone was so much fun, and it was a great first timer type of triathlon. I've been out of fitness for a bit, so it was meant to provide myself a baseline and gain some experience, which it definitely did! With my travel schedule, who knows if I'll be in Southern California again for this race next year, but I'd definitely like to try! I'm happy with my overall performance, I was aiming for about 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minutes given my training times and I am happy to have hit my target! I wasn't out to break records, but rather finish happy and on pace. Can't wait to do my next Tri!!