Seattle Escape from the Rock Triathlon - Triathlon

This race is unique in that the swim waves are self seeded by ability. Instead of starting in small waves based on age, they had larger waves and you were supposed to line up based on your expected finish time. The fast guys and gals when first, the slowest went last, and everyone else was somewhere in between. I wanted to get in the third wave, which was second to last, but, got cut off from being in it, as it seems everyone wanted in that wave. So, I was at the front of the fourth wave with the “slowest” or more nervous swimmers. That made for an interesting start, as I had my fair share of feet and arms to the face, but, once we got going, it all worked out. I passed quite a few folks on the swim, but it seemed every so often, I would get boxed in between people doing the breaststroke, doggy paddle, or some other indiscernible stroke. The half mile swim was pretty much a non-event, which I am pretty pleased about, since I just started swimming two monhts ago. For me this was not about being fast, just getting through it, and I could have kept going – awesome.

Now that I know I can cover the distance, I will try to push harder on the swim. Would like to take 4-5 minutes off my time.

The run from the swim to T1 was pretty far - I think about 300 yards, mostly uphill. Due to the length, I took off my wetsuit off not far after getting out of the water. This worked well! Also, I had a water bottle handy to squirt off my feet to make getting into socks easier.

Not much - this was a pretty good transition,.

Unfortunately, being in the last swim wave meant I had lots of folks to contend with to get going on the turny beginning of the course, which was mostly uphill, and due to many turns, there weren’t many great opportunities to pass. The bike being my strongest leg,once we got on the I-90 Bridge, which is straight as an arrow, I opened up the throttle and started reeling ‘em in. And, I just kept it up the whole way, only passing, never getting passed. I reckon I passed more than 75 people. That’s almost an entire swim wave. WOOT! Sadly, when it was time to get off the bridge, I had a repeat of the same problem I had starting the bike – a turny course with not many opportunities to pass, mostly downhill, with people riding their brakes.

I think I would move up to a "faster" swim wave and start towards the back of the pack with the faster swimmers, so I wouldn't get stuck behind so many slow bikers. I was the only one passing people on the bike - which means I was way too far back in the pack. I lost several minutes not being able to pass slower riders in congested situations where it wasn't safe to pass.

One thing about this race is that the distances in between each sport were really kind of far. It was probably 150-200 yards between transition and the bike mount/dismount area down a kind of gravel path, which makes for some awkwardness. I did my best to get back to my rack quickly and be on my way for running.

Nothing much. This went smoothly.

My goal for this race was 20 minutes for 2.5 miles, but I underestimated the impact the hilliness would have on me! There is a fairly steep exit out of transition onto the path, with rolling hills throughout the course. Overall, I'm happy with my run because though I am a determined running, I am not necessarily the best at running :) I pushed through as best I could. I tried to keep a steady pace on the uphills and then push as hard as I could on the downhills and flats. I passed a lot of people, once again due to starting in the slowest swim wave, I think, because I typically don't pass a ton of people running!

Not much - I need to practice running harder when tired though.

This was my second triathlon, and much better than my first go-round, so I am very happy with my results. Next season I will focus on getting faster, but this year I mostly concentrated on completing an event and learning from it!


I have only a few minor points to add about the race:
-This year the bike course was shorteneed to only 8.5 miles, which I was sad about because the bike leg is my best leg (as proven by my disproportionate overall ranks by sport ;)
-The race t-shirts were pretty ugly as race t-shirts go. I have done lots of running races, and have lots of ugly t-shirts, but this one was worse than any of the ugly ones I have!
-I will definitely participate again - it was well organized and fun!