TRI FOR ACTS OF KINDNESS - TriathlonSprint

I was fortunate to be in the 1st heat. It would have been pretty annoying to have to wait around for an hour and a half, just to start the race. So, while I was originally unhappy with it being such a short swim as we 'swimmers' didn't get any advantage- the lack of waiting around and cycling/running when it was 5 degrees cooler had ancillary benefits.

Ugh. Terrible T1. it took me forever to get my socks on. Usually the balega socks are so stretchy and smooth that they slip right over your feet. But these are getting old and were hard to side one. Then I forgot to tighten down one of my shoe buckles. Ran out of T1 to the mount area, and spend what seemed like 3 minutes clipping in. (actually, probably 10 seconds).

I've gotta work out the whole sock, shoes in the pedals thing. Perhaps I need to go shopping for some tri cycling shoes. I could easily take 45s to 1min off this time.

I think the same stinky diesel truck passed me 6 times, or it just seemed that way. Since I was in the 1st swim group, there were only 4 cyclists in front of me at the start, then 1 pro chick with a disk wheel blew by me near the beginning. So, only 5 in front of my the whole ride. 1 guy and 1 girl behind me claimed they were trying to catch me, but they never did. So, I was out there all alone. I did see a group of about 7 riders riding in a pack (drafting) at one point. I think I could have done just a little better on this ride.

oh heck, I don't know. ride just a little bit harder maybe? I didn't give it my all. Never got into a steady groove.

Blazed through T2 today. loosened shoes on bike. Ran to rack. Off with the cycling shoes, and slipped the running shoes right on. Helmet off, grabbed my race belt and was off. I took my cycling gloves off and moved the Garmin from my bike to my wrist while still on my bike, so no time lost there. Learned my lesson and set up my Garmin 405 properly this time, and just hit the lap button in and out of each transition. Worked like a charm, giving me my avg speed/pace per lap- which was my avg bike speed when on the bike, and avg running pace during the run. All cool.

I think I went out a little too fast. Had to reel it in a bit, and by the start of mile 3 I felt like I had appendicitis. Relaxed for 1/4 mile then began to pick it up to the end. Not sure about the actual distance, but according to Garmin I did a 7:12 pace- which ties my best. Not bad for being sick all week.

start just a tad slower.

Handling my tremendous surprise at my 1st age group podium!


T1. Being sick this week.


Kudos for Glenn and their 1st triathlon. Great job for a 1st. The pool situation, and how long it took to get all the swimmers through is a difficult one to overcome, and they'll get plenty of comments on the road situation- not having a enough room to ride to the right of the cones. The cycle was over 1/2 mi longer than the specified distance, and the run was 0.2mi shorter. The included breakfast and drinks were great. As for the 'silent auction'- I think they were trying to mix two different kinds of fundraising events, and the raffle should have included triathlon stuff rather than a TV and food baskets. The goodie bag had foodstuffs in it, nothing else. They did include a simple finishers medal for those interested, and a cotton t-shirt.

There were a ton of volunteers and it was reasonably well organized. Not perfect, but my expectations were of a simple, small charity event, and they really came up with much more. One item in the swag bag offended me. Not so much that it was a christian religious magazine, but that it was so politically charged (GoodNewsTucson magazine). This kind of propaganda has no place at a race and might be the sole reason never to do this race again.

Results: http://www.j-chipusa.com/results.php?p=0&eventid=3101