Indianapolis Sprint Triathlon Series - TriathlonSprint

Not a good swim for me. Started in numerical order with 2 second seperation. I was 445 and immediately ran into a lot of traffic. The lake was really nice but the course was tight and no matter where I swam I couldn't find open water to put together more than 10 strokes without having to swim around someone. Had trouble dropping into any type of groove, except at the farthest point when I swam way out around several back and side strokers. Tried at various times to just hang back and draft, but I was unsuccessful.

Need more OWS time. Also need to work on speed intervals: being able to accelerate past people for 10-20 yards and then settle back into a steady rythym.

Had trouble with shoes and sunglasses. I don't know what I was thinking, but I didn't really rush at all. Looking back, I even wished a guy luck as I was casually tieing my shoes.

Put sunglasses on, then helmet. Will have a new bike at the next one, so will use bike shoes and just slip into them.

Got passed by about 5, but passed a lot of people. Had a blast. My speed was great in the open road, average 21+ at one point, but dropped in the park when the road was wet and congested. Could have pushed harder, but dialed back the effort several times to try and preserve my legs. Also there were a lot of officials on the course, and I was cautious not to get a drafting penalty. Would I even know if I was penalized or would my time just reflect the penalty? A lot of traffic.

Go harder on the bike, especially early. Front tire was flat later that afternoon from a small puncture hole. Inflated the tires that morning, but don't know when I had the pucture. Didn't notice though, so it couldn't have been bad.

Better: I at least remembered that we are being timed. Used number belt which helped.

Passed a lot of people, and at this point thought I was doing really well. Could only tell by peoples' race numbers that I was progressing up through the field: we started in numerical order. Worked my wa well into the 300-200 range and even passed several low double digit numbers Felt relaxed and easy for the most part. In hind sight I was too relaxed and was talking to and encouraging other racers.

Need to push the run. Need to wear a watch. My level of effort was off: thought I was running in the 7:20 range.

The swim was just plain bad for me (very crowded start), but I should have decided before the race how hard I "really" wanted to go. If it was going to be a fun/learning/training race then don't be too self-critical or dissappointed with the end times.

Things I Learned
Don't mess with sunglasses: put them on in transition before helmet.
New bike without toeclips.
Wear watch.

Positives
Had fun.
Number belt was great.
Nutrition and hydration worked. Used one bottle of Heed that I sipped on a little pre-race and drank some on the bike.
No cramping or stomach issues!


Nice race course for a beginner: flat and shaded. Learned a lot for my wife's Go Girl tri this August. She also volunteered, so got some good experience. Fun event, but a little too crowded for me.