mini-Mussel Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

81/370 women, 232/738 total for swim. Score-this is showing 1:52 pace.

I knew not to expect much coming into this swim since I have been such a slacker at the pool. I've been swimming on average less than twice a week, and because of Lynne's issues with her lake and my reluctance to go to the HEAT swims because of my lack of swimming, I haven't had any open water swims this year.

Given that, the fact that I couldn't swim in a straight line was not exactly surprising. It's exactly what happened to me at Webster last year. At one point I almost hit a kayak and I heard the lifeguard say, "Go left." It was actually pretty comical. Eventually I just aimed hard to the left, which resulted in a relatively straight path, and I swam HARD. I figured I was losing a ton of time being unable to navigate, so I could at least try to make up for it by swimming hard. I was very surprised to end up with a faster time than last year. Imagine if I had just been able to swim straight. :)

I came out of the water to hear Jeff yelling that I was in 10th (turned out to actually be 11th), which gave me a boost because I figured I had totally blown it.

Swim more - in the pool, and in open water.

Next year I will definitely start participating in the West Hill swims with HEAT so I can get a lot of open water practice in.

10/49 in AG, 56/370F, 155/738 total.

Not a bad T1. I pulled my suit halfway down as I was running to the rack, and anticipated getting my heels caught so I had my fingers ready to slide the suit off.

The only real hiccup was getting my bike shoes on. I had trouble setting up the shoes pre-race, in that I couldn't find the right tension on the straps. I wanted to have the top two already buckled, but I kept pushing the heel of the shoe down when I tried to put my foot in.

Sure enough, same problem when the race started. I think maybe next time I'll have the straps threaded, but not tightened. Maybe that will be the happy medium.

See above re: the heels of my shoes. Otherwise it was actually a good T1, especially for me.

30/370F, 168/738 total. Score-this shows a 19.7 mph pace.

This was a good bike. I was flying down the first part - actually thought I would smash last year's time - and feeling really good. I must have been in race mode because it didn't even cross my mind that there was a tailwind. I quickly discovered why I felt so good when I started heading back on the course. Total headwind. Ah well - it's something we all had to deal with. :)

Overall this was a good bike for me, especially given that I haven't biked as much this year. "Hills" were below average for me because I still am feeling pretty weak on them for some reason, but I rocked the flats and ended up being passed by only one (younger) woman. I made a point of standing up every three miles and taking 10-12 strokes, and it made a huge difference for my hamstrings compared to last year. They were still a bit tight coming off of the bike, but the difference was night and day.

The only irritating thing was when I was setting up to make the turn towards the lake. There was a girl next to me and I couldn't get past her before we started turning, so I ended up coming up on her left. She took the turn WAY WIDE!!! All the way over the double-yellow line, which of course pushed me out there too. I wanted to bark at her, "All right, hold your line!", but I realized there were volunteers there and I didn't want to get dinged for being unsportsmanlike. The words, "All right..." came out of my mouth, but then I shut it. Ultimately, I'm the one who is responsible for positioning myself correctly, so there you have it, but I lost a ton of speed on the turn.




Make sure I have a clear path on the turns.

25/49 AG; 180/370F, 419/738 overall.

This was not a good T2. I lost some time because I ran past my bike spot, and needed a few seconds to figure out where I was. Ironic given that I made sure that I brought my UConn towel so it would stand out.

I also had the same trouble with the heels of my running shoes as I did with my bike shoes. I'm not sure if it's because this was literally my last run in them (300 mile retirement) so they heels were more flexible, or if I had them tied to tight. Either way, between the bike racking and the shoes, I probably easily lost 10 seconds.

Take note of my UConn towel - heck, that's why I brought it! Maybe I should get a bright colored one for next time - orange or something. Also, don't use running shoes that are on the verge of being retired.

94/370F; 315/738 total. Score this shows 8:37 pace.

Given that I'm still trying to regain my speed after my winter of discontent with my knee, I had no expectations for this run. The plan was to just run as hard as I could, and if my knee started barking, then slow down. After last year's debacle in T2 with the Garmin, I ran naked so I had no idea of my pace. Sometime after mile 1 I was thinking that if I ran any harder I would throw up, so I was satisfied because I knew I was giving in 100%.

Between mile 2 and mile 3, my knee started making a bit of noise, but I figured the finish line was so close that I would just push through it barring a rapid deterioration. It quieted down, and I finished at a much faster pace than expected so I was thrilled.

It's funny because it's always during the run where I wonder just why in the heck I'm doing this. It becomes a bit of a mental battle. This time I was thinking, "Why are you putting yourself through this? You could just swim, and bike, and run, without ever doing a race, and stay pretty fit." But I soldiered on. :) The mental conversation should be interesting during next month's Olympic.


Nothing. Midway through the winter I wasn't even sure I would be able to run a 5K, so I am happy.

Made the mistake of chugging the water bottle that they handed me, so I had a pretty bloated belly for a while. Otherwise I just walked around a bit, and then waded into the lake - shoes and all - to bring the core temperature down. It felt great!


My complete lack of discipline when it comes to swimming workouts, and a slow start to the bike season. I've also mentally struggled a bit with finding a happy medium so that I can keep focused on the fun aspect of this sport.


This is a fabulous race - a must-do in our calendar each year. I think next year I'm going for the HIM - my first!