Fall Frenzy - TriathlonSprint

I was lulled into a false sense of complacency by being in the first heat with much, much slower swimmers. I should have been at least 3 minutes faster than I was.

It was nice to be first person out of the pool, though!

Pushed myself more, ignore the other swimmers.

Transition area was in a soccer field - it's difficult to get going in the handcycle on grass. There was a curb between the field and the street, so I needed to have volunteers lift the handcycle (with me in it) over the curb. Not the best set up for handcycling.

Again, it was nice being out on the course ahead of the pack. A couple of dozen people passed me (a nice change from hundreds of people passing me). I was a little pre-occupied wondering where my competitor was, as he's a faster biker and I expected him to pass me sooner. He passed me at mile 9.

My husband and a random bystander helped with the transfer from handcycle to racing wheelchair, and that went quickly. Again, it's super hard to push a racing wheelchair across an entire soccer field.

My competitor got on the run course about 4-6 yards ahead of me and maintained his lead until I caught him at the turnaround. Then I just stayed behind me the whole way back - I didn't feel comfortable trying to pass on the narrow path with runners coming toward me. He pulled away at the last hill and crossed the finish line about 10 seconds ahead of me.

Learn to pass.

Primarily logistical difficulties - grass, curbs, cones.


I enjoyed this race, and it fit in well with my training goals for this month. Despite the logistical issues, the volunteers and officials were great - efficient and helpful. I especially enjoyed being able to race directly with my only competitor.

This is very much a first time triathlete's race.