Ironclad Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Great swim for me. I felt strong throughout and kept a smooth long stroke. One surprise - everyone seemed to line up a little to the outside and toward the back so, although I usually would not do so, I lined up right at the front and on the inside line. It worked very well as I had open water right to the first buoy. I found myself catching up to the slower people from the prior wave (usually does not happen) and came out of the water ready to get on the bike.

Maybe a little more warmup. I think I might put some more intervals into my training to work on speed.

Fine T1. A little trouble with my wetsuit and balance coming out of the open water. Usually I get to T1 and most of the bikes are gone and there are a couple of people in the process of getting changed. This time it looked like all of the bikes were on the rack and there was nobody there. Took me aback for a second.

Best bike segment I've ever ridden. I spent a lot of time over this past winter on the trainer working hard to improve and I was very happy to see the results. My time this year on the bike was over four minutes better than last year. The course is beautiful and a fun ride (turns, dips, climbs).

Maybe hold a little bit back since (as described below) my run was a little disappointing.

Bike on rack, bike shoes off, running shoes on, hat on, and go. I don't think I could cut more than a couple of second from my time without one of those crazy flying dismounts (which would probably result in me landing on the floor). Once again, a big surprise to find there were no bikes on the rack when I arrived.

Tough run for me. Trails are hard. Hilly trails are really hard. All the people that I was in front of ran past me in the woods. I heard a lot of "on your left". I spent a lot of time getting out of the way. Twisted my ankle when I moved over into a rut (not the passing runners fault - I just landed badly between a root and a rock). I will say though that the run is beautiful, through the woods, along the beach and the entrance into the Webb Institute and down the chute to the finish line is awesome for a local sprint race.

Once again, lose some weight.

Said hi and congratulations to some friends. Got my pancakes and eggs and sat down in the grass to relax and rest my throbbing ankle.


The run. I already know what I'll be focusing on during the next off season.


Great race. Excellent organization. Beautiful course. Fellow competitors are very friendly and encouraging. I recommend this race to everyone I know that does triathlons - beginners and experienced veterans.