Washington D.C. Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Felt extremely long, felt great, very relaxed. Started passing people and didn't know what was going on. From 200-400 meters passed a LOT of people. My start group was my age group, plus men 40-44. Having that many people around was good, not crowded at all.

Also, not sure how they calculated my swim time, but they have my average at 1:51. Seems like they subtracted a set number from my time based on how long it SHOULD have taken me to get form the ramp to the timing mat, I guess.

In retrospect, it's easy to say maybe have pushed a little harder, though towards the end I felt a little tired. Obviously I'd fix my turning and make sure to be careful until the very end. All in all, I was very surprised at how well I did.

Definitely forgot to put on my heart rate monitor, realized it 20 feet away, said screw going back. Also, totally put on my shoes when I meant to carry them and run in sock feet to the mount line. Luckily it was a run through grass, so I was fine in my shoes. Next time I think I'll practice having them clipped in already and putting my feet in while riding.

All in all, felt I did this particularly quickly and I'm not certain where I could have shaved off time. A few seconds perhaps, but minutes, I'm unsure. Unfortunately, looking at the elites' transition times, I definitely was not fast.

Like I said, I'll try having my shoes already clipped. Now that I think about it, a trisuit might also help, since I got my shirt a little stuck while putting it on (the bib got tangled a bit). The only other thing I can think of is to run harder in transition, and not jog it. I suppose the brief pause of getting my stuff would be enough to catch my breath and make sprinting worth it.

As I was going I realized how hard I was pushing it and though I was loving it, I wondered if I was setting myself up to gas on the run. I definitely don't think I was, but I didn't murder the second half, and spun out a pretty high cadence the last mile to get my legs going for the run. I also maintained a slightly higher cadence for the last half to third.

Not take my foot out with 100ms to go. Then again, the signage was confusing and the volunteers shouted, "Dismount! (pause) Dismount ahead!" which made me freak out until I heard the ahead. Not the best situation.

Felt I did this pretty well. Definitely should have pulled my feet instead of unclipping I guess. Oh well.

I don't THINK I'd carry my bike, but on the bumpy grass it was definitely a viable option. I'll have to ask around about this.

Surprised myself going out of transition the speed I was maintaining and how I seemed to be near the front of the pack. I guess I was actually in 2nd coming out of T2 thanks to my strong bike, but then eventually got passed by two guys.

I don't know how to have a better sense of where I was and how close I was to placing, but had I known I was fighting for a medal, perhaps I could've pushed harder. I guess with more practice I'll know what a good time is, and therefore have a better sense of if I'm in medal contention.

Got a free massage which was wonderful, and quite long. My masseuse worked out the kink I got in my neck while biking, and loosened up my hamstrings (though they're tight now, which they never have been in my life, so I wonder if that was wise). Got some powerade, some food, and quite the long walk back to start. Didn't do much stretching, though probably should have.


Other than the obvious swim turn, for which I'm still kicking myself, the run definitely hurt me. I still know what I'm capable of based on college, and I am just not there. Having to take the week beforehand off to rest my knees may have helped short term, but I've gotta take my run training more seriously. The transitions will come with practice and time, so I'm not too worried about them, and my swim times keep coming down, so I'm happy with that. Definitely for now, I've gotta focus on my knees and my runs.


Personal comments:
24/510 in the Newbie Challenge. Kind of disappointed in that performance, but it's fine. Just shows others are working harder than I am in their first season too, so that's a motivator.

Race comments:
The music selection, though many complained, was right up my alley. 90s jock jams in the morning? Yes please. Plus, the second to last water station on the run was blasting The Electric Slide right as I came through, so I had to electric slide my way past. It just felt right.

My main complaint would be that there were no aid stations on the bike. I didn't mind for the sprint so much, but for the Olympic there definitely should have been something. Plus, it would have been super easy to stock the stations, since the Olympic was just two laps of the Sprint course. However, the aid stations on the run were ample, and they had wet towels at some of them, which was super awesome. Some of the trash cans could've been a little further away from the station, so you could run with it for a second, but meh.

Also, obviously, the price was expensive for a sprint. But hey, Nation's Capitol and all. If I weren't a local, I'd probably even say the scenery was worth it.