Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I didn’t perform as well during the swim as I did in training. I couldn't catch my breath and had to keep stopping. A friend who is a good swimmer observed me and said I was taking breathes too often and it caused me to hyperventilate. Once it started, I couldn't stop it. I kept starting and stopping but was determined to push through.

Relax and determine in advance how many strokes I want to take before taking a breath.

T1 went as planned. I knew I would spend more time putting on socks, shoes, shorts, top, helmet, etc. During practice my swim/tri suit was too thin for the bike ride and I made sure I had an extra layer to avoid problems in the saddle. For everything I put on, I was happy with the time.

Keep water bottle in cooler instead of on bike if the temperatures are 95+! Remember to put on bike gloves.

I hit a wall (metaphorically!) at mile 8 and had to force myself to push, push, push. There was some wind resistance but I didn't mind because it was so hot! The hills on the back end of the course were tough.


More practice ahead of time to increase distance and ability to conquer hills. Lose weight to make both of these things more doable. Practice drinking water while riding. I think had I taken in more fluids during the ride I may have had more energy for the hills. The heat was whipping me.

Not much to do here but get helmet off, hat on, get chilly pad, and water bottle since I ride in my running shoes and have toe pedals to help push vs. clip ins. Helped another racer who took a fall off her bike and was scraped up a bit. Gave her cool cloth and my first aid kit before leaving T2.

Nothing.

I walked the run course, due to my weight and knee issues. I had hoped to get up to a jog but my body told me I better walk it and I did. A portion of the course is in the shade and that helped. The hills in the bright sun made it so hard but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other!

Lose enough weight to safely get up to a jog without damaging my knee. Sign up right away for this reach to get an earlier start to beat the extremely hot temperatures.

I immediately started packing up and didn't partake of the food/drinks. I had extra water and it was such a long day (starting at 4:00 am) plus the late start, and 2:53 to finish, I was happy but ready to go home.


I weight 250, I"m 5'4" and have high blood pressure (being treated). I paced myself during the race to make sure I didn't put my health in danger.

Training more would have helped.

I think the heat made it tough for everyone.


This was my first tri and I'm very happy I was able to finish it. I would do this race again but as noted above, would sign up early to get an earlier start.