Stone Harbor Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Felt good, but it was crowded as usual. As a result, I was constantly having to look up to sight in front of me for the first half of the swim. Due to the congestion, drafting wasn't really an option, so I swam to the outside to be on my own. The course is a rectangle, so there are four turns, and not much room to move between the first and second turns. The organizers should consider increasing the number of waves to reduce crowding, and maybe starting the waves a bit farther apart (perhaps 5 minutes). This would not be the best race for first-timers who are not real confident swimmers.

Not much. Staying to the outside worked well, though it added some time. Not sure being in the crowd would have improved my time.

A little slow due to some wrestling with my wetsuit, and a problem with one of my race number pins getting ripped off.

Use a belt for my race number, and a little more body glide on my ankles and heels to get the wetsuit off.

I felt very good on the bike. There was a light headwind in one direction, but not bad. Because it was 3 loops, all of the participants were mixed together by the end, which created some traffic jams, and some slow spots.

Nothing, though I probably could have pushed a little harder, as my legs felt fine starting the run.

This was the better of the two transitions, though I did take some time to hydrate a little more, as the heat was starting to build. I also struggled a bit with my socks.

Nothing, except choose socks that are easier to slide on.

My legs felt great coming off of the bike, but my body temperature was higher than I thought when riding the bike. I had planned to use the water stops to pour cold water on my head, face and torso. Unfortunately, the water wasn't very cold, but it was better than nothing. I started slowly (9:00 pace) as I was concerned about my ability to deal with the heat and sun. But felt good after the halfway point, and picked up the pace to about 8:00 into the finish.

I would have trusted my conditioning more, and tried to push closer to an 8:00 pace for the whole run. I was too intimidated by the heat.

Ran back onto the course to run in with a friend toward the back of the pack. Stretching. Hit the post-race breakfast buffet at the Yacht Club, which is very nice.


Hot weather. I simply don't do well in the heat, particularly in direct sun on blacktop. I suppose that's the same for everyone, but my run times vary dramatically with and without the heat.


The 2010 version of this event didn't run quite as well as the prior years, but overall it was good. It seemed a little unorganized in spots, but the volunteers were friendly and attentive. They definitely need more hydration stations on the run, given the number of "casual" participants, and given the heat that normally accompanies this event. While I don't usually drink at the aid stations in a sprint, there were a number of participants that sorely needed them. The organizers could also stand to spring for some more port-a-johns, and maybe come up with a course design that could keep automobiles off the course. This is a great local event.