Culpeper Sprint - TriathlonSprint

I shaved 2+ min off my time from 3 yrs ago. I think I must have done a much better job of breathing and sighting than I have in the past. Either that, or the swim course was short this year. The swim was pretty congested, especially at the turn buoys. I concentrated on trying to move water. And not get grossed out by the abundant plant life near shore.

If I were racing, I could have pushed harder, especially along the back length of the triangle where there was the most room. I also could have started closer to the front. The start was a bit rough.

Took my time.

This is a gorgeous ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was trying NOT to race, which was pretty hard at the start. But then at 1.5 miles, I couldn't switch out of the big gear on the front. I tried un-clipping my foot and kicking the derailleur but no dice. Then it occurred to me, if it's really broken, I don't want to do the whole race in the hardest gear. So I stopped and manually moved the chain to the middle ring. Sure enough, the cable from the gear shift was broken. Got going again, and just rode. I knew it wasn't going to be a good one because I kept getting passed. Not just passed, but passed by people on hybrid bikes. That never happens to me! But, oh well, I knew I haven't been able to train as much as I want.

The highlight was coming over a hill to see the road stretch out in front, lined with cornflowers in the sun and the mountains in the distance! Beautiful!

3 yrs ago, I did the bike in just under an hour, so this was significantly worse. :( My bike compu said 17 miles this year. Really? I thought it was the same course...

Train more! Do more hills!

Again, took my time.
A not-fun part of this race is getting off the bike and then running downhill to transition in the grass. Owie, quads!

3.5 min slower than 3 yrs ago, which I dubbed "suckiest run ever." This race was the first time I got a side cramp during a race and it really sucked. I've been getting them recently a lot for some reason, so I was vigilant to not overdo it. I made sure to walk the initial hills. I was cramp-free for about a mile, then sure enough, cramp kicked in. I was walking to try and keep it from getting worse, but it was still hurting, so then I though, I might as well run, if it's going to hurt either way! Managed to do a fair amount of running, especially the last mile. But it wasn't pretty.

Train more.

Watermelon never tasted so good! Had some oranges too, and then pizza and gatorade. Probably too much pizza. I felt sick all the way home.


Not being able to train well, as well as myriad other issues (back pain, abdominal pain, never getting enough sleep).


I would have liked the cold drinks at the finish line. In my post-race haze, I couldn't find them. Swim is fine if you don't mind the vegetation; bike is nice and rolling and beautiful; run is HARD. A nice little race.