Sharon's Back Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

The water temperature was 77, so you could still wear a wetsuit and be considered an age grouper. I planned on wearing it anyway, so it didn't really matter that much to me. I’ve mentioned this before. It always surprises me that none of the ½ mile swims are ever the same distance. This is probably the longest. I’m guessing on the lengths here, but it was a rectangular shape, about 90 yards to the first buoy, take a right, 350 yards to the second buoy, take a right 60 yards to the third buoy, take a right, 350 yards to the fourth buoy, take a left, 30 yards to shore. I was in wave 3 of 6 waves (males, 40 and over). Heading to the first buoy was rough. It was crowded with plenty of bumping and shoving. It helps that I’ve been through it before and realize there is nothing you can do about it. I managed to stay relaxed and didn’t wear myself out by swimming too hard trying to avoid the unavoidable collisions. After I rounded the first buoy, things opened up and I got into a nice rhythm. My speed was about as it usually is, but one of my swimming strengths deserted me today. My sightings of the buoys were way off. I’m usually dead on, but not today. I continually looked up and found the need to make adjustments (not to mention swimming extra yards). The important thing, I wasn’t fatigued when I exited the water. Well, maybe a little, but not like other races.
Last year's time: 19:42 This year: 19:10 (32 seconds ahead of last year)

Nothing for now.

I am still slow in transitions. There was really no need for this slow time. The wetsuit came off fine, I did everything I planned on doing, so I can’t really explain it. Of course, it was better than last year, it had to be.
Last Year’s Time: 5:15.
This Year’s Time: 3:30.
Difference: 1:45 faster than last year
At this point, ahead of last year’s pace by: 2:17


Just hustle more.

As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”. For once I had a decent ride (by my standards) and my body didn’t explode when I climbed off. Granted it wasn’t that fast, but faster than I’ve ridden in a race to date. I was thrilled. About the only negative was it took about 200 yards to finally get both feet clipped in. Sure tons of people passed me, but I passed quite a few myself. I won’t count the 73 year old woman I passed as I can’t be proud that she was ever ahead of me in the first place. There were plenty of times I wanted to up my pace, but I kept checking my heart rate and decided against it. I still had it in the back of my mind to save something for the run. I actually enjoyed the ride, something I never did before. I played leap frog with a 31 year old guy for part of the race. I would pass him on the hills, and then he would zoom by me on the flats. As I neared the bike finish, I saw my brother, but he wasn’t ready with his camera. He made a quick recovery and caught a few close ups (ugh). I don’t need to be reminded how I look. I would have preferred far away. No one 61 years old relishes close ups.
Last Year’s Time: 49:39. (425 out of 451)
This Year’s Time: 46:27. (380 out of 503)
Difference: 3:12 faster than last year
At this point, ahead of last year’s pace by: 5:29


I'm finally getting some bike endurance, now I have to improve my speed.

Uneventful, should be faster, but I will live with it.
Last Year’s Time: 3:08.
This Year’s Time: 2:14.
Difference: 54 seconds faster than last year
At this point, ahead of last year’s pace by: 6:23


Forget the name, but maybe buy those shoelace things I see people use.

I was thrilled that when I started to run my body didn’t say, “Where the hell do you think you’re going”. I had very stiff calves at the beginning. This caused my first mile to be very slow. However, I was in high spirits. I wasn’t wiped out from cycling like I usually am, so I didn’t really care. Not that I was blazing, but I believe I passed more people than passed me. I do my running training by running 4 miles at about a 9:30 per mile pace early in the morning prior to work. After dragging though the first mile, the calf stiffness went away and I surprised myself by being able to run along at pretty close to my training pace of 9:30. I don’t think the first mile killed my time that much because I was able to bring my heart rate down quite a bit. The only negative part of the run was someone I didn’t notice sneaking up and passing me at the finish. I hate when that happens.
Last Year’s Time: 55:14. (427 out of 451)
This Year’s Time: 43:53. (379 out of 503)
Difference: 11:21 faster than last year

Last Year’s Finishing Time: 2:12:56 (426 out of 451)
This Year’s Finishing Time: 1:55:12 (372 out of 503)
Difference: 17:44 minutes




Nothing, I didn't expect to be able to run a 10 min mile pace (44:00) after the cycling, and was happy to be under it.

Usually I have to find a shady tree and lie down afterwards. I felt fine so I didn't really know what to do. I just headed for my bike.


This was really a best case scenario for me. I was hoping to be under 2 hours, so to finish 5 minutes under was great.


1. Everything was better this year. The post race food was awesome. You had your choice between cheeseburger, grilled chicken, pulled pork, or sausage.
2. The volunteers and police did a great job.
3. Max Performance can be proud of the job they did.