Minuteman Sprint - TriathlonSprint

Yup. My time speaks for itself. I had an awful swim. My legs started to cramp before the first turn and I stopped a number of times to stretch them out. My sighting was reasonable until the last leg when I decided to follow the sound of the cheering crowd instead of looking. Oops! Surprise! They were not standing under the exit arch... They were standing off to the side. Count that as a lesson learned! :-)

Train more.
Train more.
Train more.

I took my swim cap and goggles off and lowered my wet suit to my waist on the way to my spot. I was on track for a good T1 time when my suit got caught on the timing chip strap. I probably spent 2 minutes wrestling it over the strap and heel.

I might try taking the strap off before the wetsuit and then (hopefully!) remember to put it back on. I could also try putting the strap higher on my ankle and completely under the wet suit - right now the strap usually rides just below the leg opening. I'll take suggestions on other options to not lose so much time.

After my disasterous start, I settled into a reasonable pace. The cramping was still there, but not as bad. I passed quite a number of people and made up 37 spots in this segment.

I was pretty happy with this part of the race. My times will get better with more training, but this was not too bad for my first, full triathlon ever.

This went pretty well. I did have to stop for a bio break, but the port-o-lets were right next to the exit, so it probably only added 30 seconds to my time.

Other than pulling an Uta Pippig in the future, I think this went well.

The cramps came back during the run. I could go for about 1/3 mile and then had to stop / stretch / walk before running again. At about the 2/3 mark, I was inspired by an amputee-athlete that I passed. She was basically skipping on her one foot and crutches. After encouraging her on, I did push through the pain to the end without stopping.

As my cramps were a result of my fibromyalgia, I don't know if I could have done anything about them - additional fluids / salts don't seem to help. I haven't had an episode like this for a long time, so they caught me by surprise.

As this is my first year in multisport (or, who am I kidding?!? - any sport for that matter! :-) I know that I will get faster with more training and experience. I now know why this sport is so addictive. I can't wait for my next race.


Overall, I enjoyed the race. As with everything in life, there is always room for improvement. So, here are my suggestions:
1. The organizers setup the pre-race announcements / music in the tranistion area which was a fair distance from the swim start. As many of us in the early waves left the transition area to get ready for the swim, we didn't hear any of the announcements or national anthem. Next year, I would move the speaker to the finish line area and have all of the athletes gather there (it was also close to the swim start).
2. The start of the run was downright dangerous. After leaving T2, sprint runners had to cross a reasonably busy road. There was a cop and volunteer there to stop traffic from one direction. However, we were told to simply "cross the road when safe." Many runners stayed to the right for a long time and then ran across the road. This could have been resolved by having another set of cops / volunteers stopping traffic from the other side.
3. At the same spot as #2, a long line of cars was backed up behind the cop as runners were crossing. A number of the cars were right against the right shoulder. At the same time, the HIM bikers were crossing the same spot and had to pass to the left of the cars (think centerline infraction!) or be forced off the road. I would re-route the course to keep the bike and run loops from crossing on such a busy road.
4. Also at the same spot, the first left turn was not marked at all. I heard of a number people who missed it and kept running straight. Fortunately, I had driven the course the night before and followed a number of people ahead of me. There was a volunteer there, but she was in her car texting on her phone when I ran by...