Massachusetts State Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Despite the slow clock speed, this is a tremendous improvement for me. Last month, I swam 440 yards in 14:14 - So, I swam 17% more in the same time. After much deliberation, I did decide to wear a wetsuit. I didn't overheat and it did help with floatation. As you can see from my rankings across the disciplines, this is my weakest sport. And, unfortunately due to work and family commitments, I can only swim 30 minutes x 3 times / week. Given this low volume, I probably won't be able to get too much better this year. Hopefully, I can find more time next year.

As usual, train more...

Rookie mistakes aplenty here. During my last two races, my wetsuit kept getting hung up on my timing chip. So, this race, I decided to take off the chip before removing my wetsuit. (Like a bad movie, you can almost see this rookie mistake coming...) I then forgot to put it back on before I left transition. I made it 3 miles on the bike before I looked down and realized my mistake. As a result, I don't have transition times for T1, the Bike leg or T2. The numbers listed here are my best guesses.

Duh! Put my timing chip back on!

I made up a lot of time on the bike - I went from 18/20 in the swim to 9/20 on the bike. Given my schedule, I've been able to spend a lot of time on my bike and it showed in the results. I also felt pretty strong - at least at the start of the bike section. The 4 mile-long hill really took it out of me. However, it was nice to have a long decline to recover in time for T2.

I should have pre-driven the course to know how to plan for the hills.

The transition went smoothly, but still no T2 splits due to stupid mistake during T1.

Leave my cap in transition - the run was in complete shade and I didn't need it.

The run started rough for me - I had a lot of extraneous air pressure that came out at both ends for the first 1.5 miles. I'm going to experiment with different fluids for the bike. I currently drink tart cherry juice as I am hypoglycemic and have had problems with high-glycemic-index drinks (basically anything but tart cherry juice and water...). After the gas passed, I could pick up my pace. In fact, after mile 2, I heard footsteps and a male-sounding runner behind me. I felt pretty good, so I picked up my pace. I could tell that he was trying to pass me, so I picked up my pace again. He sped up as well, but couldn't pass. Just to be sure, I started to sprint with .1 miles to go and I passed 4 more people. I ended up 8 seconds ahead of the guy behind me. This was a real strong finish for me and I'm really stoked about it.

Try different fluids on the bike - I had to walk at least 5 times for a few seconds each to relieve my gastric distention.

Not much. I had to get back home for a birthday party, so I packed up and headed home.


1. Not enough training
2. Rookie mistakes
3. Gas on run


The Max team did a great job, as usual. I highly recommend their races. I've never thought of myself as a competitive person (WRT sports). However, my performance on the run really excited me for the next race. I guess that I've now been officially bitten by the Triathlon bug.