Northstar Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

With the snake-style swim we had to submit our estimated swim times, and we were seeded with the faster swimmers in front. I had guessed 5:45 for the 300 yd swim based on my training times and previous race performances. In training I swim about 2:00 per 100, so I subtracted 15 seconds to account for adrenaline. The guy in front of me had submitted 5:35 for his swim time.

When it was my turn I hopped in the pool and waited for the starter to say "go!" I took off, trying my best to find my pace. Over the winter I learned to bilaterally breathe, alternating sides upon which I breath every 3 strokes. However, once I learned how to do this I realized that it actually slowed me down. So I planned to breathe on my left side every two strokes during this race. I did so for the most part, except for a few times where it just felt more comfortable to keep my head down and breathe on the other side for a few alternate strokes.

I was having a difficult time making a graceful transition under the rope at the end of each lap. I managed, but it wasn't anything that would make Michael Phelps jealous.

At the turnaround on lap 5, I caught the guy in front of me. I tapped his foot and he slowed and moved over. I was able to pass without too much trouble.

At the end of the last lap I climbed out of the pool and glanced at my watch. It was around 5:20, which means I estimated a bit slow. Well, better that than the other way around.

Submit a slightly faster estimated time. Figure out how to do flip turns so I can make the lane switches a bit smoother and faster.

T1 included a run out of the building and across a grassy/weedy field to reach the transition area. This probably added 45 seconds or so to my transition time. I pulled off my goggles and earplugs while I was jogging across the field. When I got to my spot, I rolled on my socks (haven't made the sockless switch yet, and I doubt I ever will) and slid my shoes on. I put my sunglasses on and clipped on my helmet.

Everything went too smooth. I couldn't believe I was done already. I took a couple of seconds to verify I hadn't forgotten anything. I hadn't, so I grabbed my bike and ran out of the transition area.

I hopped on my bike and fumbled for a few seconds getting clipped in. My daily commuter bike uses SPD style pedals, and my tri bike uses SPD-SL. It's a little different and I'm not as fluid. It seemed like an eternity, but really probably cost me a very little time.

Perhaps get a little more used to the SPD-SL system of clipping in. Everything else went great.

The bike went north through town about 3/4 of a mile. This section was a bit rough but not terrible. We had to cross one busy street, but the police were manning the intersection and stopping traffic whenever riders came through. I thanked each and every one I saw.

As I was heading north, I glanced down and saw my speedo reading about 22 mph. I hadn't yet gotten into rhythm and was surprised to see me riding this fast. Then I realized that the wind had picked up and I was getting a tailwind assist.

The course headed east out of town, and I now had a strong crosswind from my right side. I found the gusts blowing me around a few times. This 1.5 mile section of the course had a few medium sized hills. I tried to practice what I preach and stayed in a gear in which I could spin smoothly and quickly, and tried not to pay much attention to the speedo. The road on this section had some cracks here and there and three sets of rumble strips, but for the most part was in good shape.

When the course turned south, the headwind hit hard. This four mile stretch was relatively flat, but the headwind was slowing everyone down. This is where having a tri-bike really paid off. I stayed aero and just focused on spinning. I found myself passing a good number of people on this stretch, even though I was only able to maintain 16-17 mph.

At the turn around, that brutal headwind suddenly became my best friend. I immediately found myself maintaining 31-32 mph for the whole four mile stretch north. I passed a few people, but not as many as everyone was benefitting from the assist. This four mile stretch was the fastest I've ever ridden for an extended stretch without the benefit of a long downhill.

At the turn back west, I made a small mistake I've experienced previously with left turns. I have a hard time with my tri bike estimating how fast I am moving when going into a corner. Add that to the general resistance that the tri geometry gives to cornering, and once again I found myself cutting the corner wide. I slid off the road slightly onto the gravel shoulder, but got back on the road. It cost me a few seconds, but was a better situation than a few races ago when I went flying into the ditch on a fast left turn.

Back into the hills and the crosswind, my speed dropped a bit. I think I was starting to tire out a tad as well. I had to focus on my heart rate as I noticed it was starting to get a bit out of control on this stretch. I didn't pass too many people during this section, but didn't get passed either. In fact, I didn't get passed during the entire bike leg, which is always a nice thing.

Heading back south I had to fight the headwind for the last 3/4 mile. My dismount wasn't too graceful, but again I'm still not 100% used to the SPD-SL pedals I recently added to the bike.

Slow down more on left turns so I don't go off the road. Get more comfortable with the SPD-SL clipless system.

Again, this transition went so smooth I had to stop and double check that I hadn't missed anything.

I ran in and racked my bike. I slipped out of my bike shoes and took off my helmet. I then pulled on my running shoes (Yankz laces) and donned my baseball hat. No race numbers were used other than our sharpie marks on our arms, so I didn't have to worry about a race belt.

Out the chute onto the run course.

This went as smooth as I could possibly imagine. I really can't think of anything that could improve this transition. I can only hope I can repeat this performance in future races.

A first for me, the RD was doing the race along with the rest of us. He was seeded three people in front of me during the swim, and I passed him right at the end of the bike.

In the 1st quarter mile he passed me. We chatted a bit, then he pulled out in front of me. I fell in behind and used him to pace myself. He was running a pace that would normally be a bit agressive for me, but with all the run training I'd been doing lately I figured I'd give it a shot to keep up with him.

The temp was starting to rise, and the air was getting warm. I had drank while on the bike, but was starting to get thirsty. Generally on 5k runs I don't worry about the water station, but my mouth was really dry.

I haven't had much luck trying to run and drink at the same time. I wind up inhaling the water and choking. So when I hit the water station I walked for about 20 feet. Just long enough for me to quickly drink the glass of water, then I was back up at my normal pace.

On the 2nd half of the course there were some hills. Nothing too spectacular, but at this point I was really starting to wear out, so the small hills were feeling like mountains. Holding my agressive pace was getting to be a challenge, but at this point I looked at my watch and realized that if I didn't royally screw up I could finish in under 1:10. Before the race I was hoping to break 1:15, and now I was looking a smashing my PR record.

This motivated me to keep pushing. At the 2.5 mile mark I had fallen behind the RD by about 100 yards. At this point I picked up my pace and just focused on keeping my heart inside of my chest.

At about 1/4 mile left, I passed the RD. With a few hundred yards left I usually like to throw in a final "kick" and really blow through the finish line fast. However I realized that holding my current pace was taking everything I had. I didn't have anything left in which to kick. Which is exactly the way a sprint tri should be run.

I crossed the finish line and barely had energy to walk over to the transition area. A volunteer came over to remove my chip. I then went over to the RD who had just crossed the finish line and gave him a big sweaty bear hug.

Other than losing about 15 pounds and figuring out the magical formula to run faster, I'm pretty happy with my run.

I didn't have any energy left to do a formal warm-down. I just slowly walked around and let my heart rate come down from the stratosphere.


I can't really pin it down to one single thing. This race was a PR for me, so I can't complain. I could tweak a few little things, but overall it all went very smooth.


Overall this was a very good race. No frills, nothing fancy, but well organized and a good course. I highly recommend this race and am planning to do it again in the future.