Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

Went very slowly on purpose, as this was my first tri and I've only been training in the pool for 3 months (and have never had any formal swim training before). Started out in the back of the pack on the outside, let the experienced swimmers get moving and then followed after waiting 15-30 seconds for the fray to clear. Spent a decent portion of the race flipping over to my back to catch my breath, which definitely slowed me down, although that was mostly due to nerves and not actually being overly tired.

Now that I've got one under my belt, I would trust my training more and have more confidence in my ability to swim faster and take fewer breaks. I would still start out on the outside and in the back, as that took a lot of pressure off and kept me away from the craziness, which given that I'm just getting into the sport, kept the swim fun and relaxing. Plenty of time to get into better swim shape for next year.

Felt good about the transition, although it took me longer than I expected and I was a little below average for my group on time. The water was warm, so no wetsuit, but the distance from the swim end of the transition to the bike end was pretty long. Jogged the entire way, put on my helmet, HRM, GPS watch, helmet, sunglasses, and shoes, and then jogged to the bike start. Used a setup from Joel Friel's "Your First Triathlon" book, so everything was where I expected it to be.

Will experiment with leaving my shoes attached to the bike instead of jogging in them to the end of the transition, and will practice putting on my gear a few more times, as i could have cut a minute out of my transition by practicing more, especially putting on the HRM.

Felt very good on the bike. It's what I was most comfortable with in my training, and the race was no different. Course was nice, with a few smaller, tough hills, but nothing too difficult. Roads are clean and well maintained and easy to ride on, and course was well marked with volunteers everywhere. I was able to drive the course the day before, which helped me visual where I was and what was coming next, and that really helped. I had one Hammer Gel in the first 5 miles or so to get some energy and was drinking Heed in my water bottle throughout.

Not too much. More hill work outs and better interval training would have given more kick at certain points of the race, but overall, I was happy with my time. I didn't have my cadence monitor working (mechanical issue on the way to the race), so went by feel and that worked well enough. My time will come down as I continue to train, but this was about 2 mins faster than I expected based on my TT workouts, so i was happy.

Felt much better in this transition and was above average in my timing. I popped my feet out of my shoes in the last 50 meters of the bike, so I was able to jog straight to my stall, rack my bike, and get my helmet off and hat on quickly. Then hit the trail running and got out of the transition feeling pretty good.

Not much. This was an easier transition than T1, so other than keeping up a faster pace and practicing the speed of the actual gear swap, I didn't have any major mistakes.

Felt okay on the run. First 1/2 mile was tough getting my running legs back under me, so I was running a 10.5 to 11 min mile. Once I settled in, I was able to stay steady around 9:30-10:00 min miles. The route definitely got hot out in the sun, but it's a straight shot and was well marked, so you knew where you were in the course and how much further to go.

More training on longer distances for the run would have helped. i never really did more than the total distance of 3 miles, so although I was comfortable, I could have pushed it harder by having a stronger kick, but I didn't have the confidence to go any faster than I was running. I probably should have taken a second gel at the end of the bike in order to have more energy as well. However, since this was my first Tri, I was focused more on finishing and was just happy to get to the end, so the run was fine. Average, but around the speed I expected.

Didn't do much of a warm down. Simple stretching walking around covered my cool down. Should have spent another 10-20 minutes on this, as I felt it the next day. i also took several days off immediately following the race, which was also a mistake. I didn't need to push hard or go far, but I should have done something to keep the blood flowing and reduce the soreness from the race.


Nerves and the fact that this was my first race. I could have cut 4-5 minutes off of my time with more confidence in the water and more practice in T1 Experience Overall, my time was ahead of my goal, so I was happy with how things went, but I'll start earlier next season with my training so that I can have more confidence going into the race.


My goal was to get under 2:00 hrs and my stretch goal was 1:40 hrs, so in the end, I was happy with 1:47. It was my first Tri, so by definition, everything was a PR, and it should only go up from here. Overall, it was a fun day and I've have already signed up for my second one later this season (Olympic distance). I'll do the Philly Tri again next year, probably sticking with the Sprint distance as a good way to start the season off and to see if I can improve my time significantly or not.