Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

The water temp was probably more like 82-83, but I think the officials fudged it a little so they could eliminate wetsuits.

For the swim, this was my strong suit, but I swore up and down that I'd take it easy off the gun to not burn myself out.
So we start swimming, it's not as crowded as I was expecting. There were a few bumps, and on one stroke I accidentally punched a guy in the ass. Sorry.

After a bit the bumping got less and less, so I did a little breaststroke and looked back, and much to my surprise, I had pulled way ahead, to the front 25% of the group.

From there, I just tried to keep going. Pull-pull, breath, repeat.
I had started off a little too strong and had to backstroke a bit to get my breathing in line. But by about 400m I was feeling ok.
The course was surprisingly easy to spot, and I never fell off track.

More OWS practice. Try to take it out a little slower. Warm up better.
Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with my swim results.

This went really well. I don't know if my time reflects it, but I felt like I blew through this. Yes, I stopped to put on socks and a shirt, and take a hit of gatorade, but that was quick. The transition area was pretty big, so the run up to the bike and out to the road seemed like miles!
I was up on the bike and clipped in pretty quick.

Buy a tri-top so I don't have to mess with putting on a shirt. (Save maybe 30 seconds.)

Otherwise, I think it went really well.

Based on my training, I think the bike was my strongest event.
I felt really good on the bike, and *thought* I held a pretty aggressive pace.
I ate one gel about 15 min into the ride, as I had planned.
Being that I've never raced before, I kept thinking that I couldn't go all-out, and needed to save some legs for the run. But in general, the bike part was kind of fun. I enjoyed the ride and the route.

I think I might have had maybe 5% more to give on the bike. But I didn't know how much to hold back to save for the run. Don't know if I *could* do it differently in a different race.

This was super quick. Probably the most time was spent getting back to my transition area. The chute into T2 was crowded, and I kept having to call 'passing left' *in transition!* to go around people.
Helmet off, shoes and race belt on, went super quick.
The run out of T2 was also pretty far, probably a 1/4 mi.

I grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer on the way out; drank half and then because it was so hot I poured the other half on my head. I got a lovely salt-water rush down my face that got in my eyes and mouth. What a dumb idea! I had to try and wipe my eyes with my shirt, which was restricted by my race belt. Oy.

The run is my worst event, so I was nervous about completing this well.
The course was simple, out and back on the road. Up front there was a little shade from some trees, but that didn't last. It was HOT, and to add a minor issue, the road was slanted about 5 degrees, which was awkward.
BUT, I ran the whole course. Didn't stop to walk at all.

I've never had a problem transitioning from bike to run, and this was no different. Though I felt ~slow~ to start. I think this is just the difference in relative speed from bike to run, that it *felt* slow.
My run pace in training is 9.5 - 1- min/mile. So I was super happy that my race pace was 10 min/mi. That was very good for me, and I'm proud of the run.


I think I didn't have enough calories in me towards the end. I should have taken another gel at the end of the bike, or in T2. Or even at the first water stop when they were offering. By the time I realized this, it was too late. But I was still very happy with my overall performance.

Walked around, ate some lunch from the food tent. Got a massage.
At home I stretched a bit more and took a couple advil.


In the end, not enough calories had a small impact. Otherwise I think I did well within my expectations.


The course, the volunteers, and everything about organizing the race was top notch. I would do this again.

I only had one minor qualm, considering how much the race cost, and the huge sponsors involved, there was ZERO swag/freebies/giveaways. Not even so much as a power-gel in the race bag. You got an event t-shirt and that was it.
Even the vendors at the expo were stingy and weren't giving anything away. Heck, there were barely any 'deals' at the expo either. Just retail price stuff. That was kind of dissapointing.

The race itself though was top notch.