Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Triathlon Trilogy #2 - TriathlonSprint

water was gross! i guess storms churned up the sand and you could not see your hand in front of your face. Also had to get through some seaweed which is never fun. When we checked out the water the day before the race it was crystal clear, so this was disappointing. I started at the back of the wave and immediately began passing people; when i reached the first bouy got caught up in the group who apparently forgot how to swim around the bouy!. Came to a complete stop and had nowhere to go until people started moving again. Seemed like a long time, but was probably just a matter of seconds. Then i was sort of boxed in by slower swimmers and i got punched, kicked and scratched a lot. I survived it without too much problem, so now I know i can start further up without the fear that the craziness will be overwhelming. The water had some chop to it, that I ranked as medium, but probably was less than that to those that are used to ocean swims. It pushed me a little to the shore, so I had to correct that line a time or two.

Start more to the front and be more aggressive with my lines. Turns out my swim is better than many in my waves, so i shouldn't be afraid to act like it!
Still, I'm ranking this as a good swim.

they had some computer issues and no one got the times for t-1. when i came in on the bike i heard announcements asking for anyone who had the exact splits on thier watch because somehow with that the director would be able to get the t-1 results. i heard some guy yell out that he had the splits, so i expected results, but none were posted.
There was a 1/4 mile run from the swim out to the transition area, most of it through the soft sand. So, that was hard :) Found my spot quickly and, I think, got out on the bike rather fast.
edit: the race director emailed about the problems saying they were able to determine 70% of the racers times. of course, i was not in the 70%.

go faster.

the slope of the causeway heading out is a bit more gentle then coming back. i was pleasantly surprised that i was passing people on the climb. as soon as you came down the causeway there was the u-turn to head back and cross back over! that was not fun, especially since it was steeper and the wind was in your face. i thought we would get some rain as there was lightening and dark clouds around (wasn't thrilled about being on top of the tallest point in the bay with ligtening very close by), but we never did and soon the sun was out.
BTW, my time is really better than this as the t1 time is included in the bike time because of the computer issues discussed above. So, i would guess my time is actually about 2 1/2 minutes (maybe more with that long sand run) better and, therefore, my avg speed is not quite so dismal.
Wind was strong enough that even going down the causeway I was able to pedal and I never reached the speeds i did on the other side; so that wasn't nice :)
I thought the bike was strong and even though the avg mph seem pedestrian, with the causeway climbs and wind, i'm happy with the ride.

I need to spend more time on the bike and need more hill work.

This was my 3d tri and my 3d issue with others in the transition area! What is with people??? This time, as i got to my spot i see that someone has racked his/her bike in my spot, so I say something to the effect of "what the hell?!, someone a@@ has taken my spot. how nice". There was a man on the other side of the rack, who said, "just move it". I realize that he may be the culprit, and call him on it asking if it is his bike. He doesn't answer directly, just says something about he's in a hurry and I should just move the bike. He's in a hurry! Hello, we are all in a hurry. And if he is just heading out on his run seconds a head of me, he really has nothing to be hurrying for as best case scenario for him, his AG started 5 mins ahead of mine, so no way is he in contention for anything that could even arguably justify being such a loser.
So, I moved his bike to another spot and probably caused another person to curse at the inconsiderate person taking her/his space. Sorry, but I'm not sure where I should have put his bike. I was tempted to leave it laying on the ground, but that would have caused problems for everyone using the racks.

I lost a bit of time dealing with the idiot and his trespassing bike, but overall the time was pretty good for me. With a bit more practice and at least one race without interference by others, I may get this time down a bit!

I was not realy thrilled with my run. The sun was out and it was very hot and humid, but I'm used to that, so I don't know why this was my worse run to date. Maybe the causeway climbs took too much out of me. I could taste my breakfast for most of the course. that is never a good sign :) Still, i passed a lot of people. I especially liked passing the 30 year old men and 20 year old women - that is good for the ego!

I think more time on the bike will help me in the run. I also need to work on my nutrition both before the race and during. It is a sprint, so calories are not really needed, but hydration in the heat and humidity is important. Of course, i need to make sure i am properly hydrated before the race too and I don't think my few sips of diet coke really took care of that!

walked around the site, drank lots of water and found the food tent. ate a couple of pancakes and a banana.


need more time on the bike and better hydration/nutrition.


Peter and I had a good time and will be doing a similar tri on Aug 1st, so i need to work on hills to be better prepared for the causeway crossings. Too bad the water was so nasty, but i like swimming in the salt water with its added bouyancy.