Gator Grinder - TriathlonSprint

Swim went OK. I was in position 2 in my lane so I let the two people behind me go ahead after 50m and that was a mistake as they immediately slowed down. I spent the next 100m trying not to run into them! Then my timing chip almost fell off so I had to stop at the wall and re-attach it. I swam the last 300m very smoothly and actually ended up catching up to the other three swimmers before we finished. This tells me that I should have held my number 2 position in the lane. Overall, the swim went well. I finished 1 minute faster than last year and I felt about 1000 times better (more relaxed) than I did back then as last year, it was an all out effort for me.

Next time, I'll make sure to start my watch correctly so that I'd have at least some idea of my swim time!

T1 went fine. It poured rain while we were in the pool, so all of our stuff was drenched. Total transition was a tad long as I took the time to put on a jacket for the bike (it was only 50F and cloudy/rainy).

This sucked. Even before the first big hill, I was sick. I threw up, TWICE! I have no idea what happened, but I was miserable. It took everything I had not to just quit. The last two miles into transition were flat, so I was able to recover a bit, but this was by far one of my worst bike legs EVER. Serious suckage. I cannot believe that I was actually SLOWER than last year. I'm lighter, in much better shape, the course was shorter and I was on a TT bike and yet I was SLOWER!! UGH.

First of all, I'd give myself more of a taper before a hilly race course. My legs didn't feel fresh from the begining. Secondly, I'd avoid swallowing so much pool water. I *think* that's what made me sick. Either that, or someone spiked my water while my bike sat in transition! ;-)

T2 went fine. I was seriously considering just quitting, but decided to try running to see how I felt.

I *almost* didn't bother with the run after my awful bike leg. I contemplated just racking my bike and walking away but since I was feeling a little better, I figured I'd give it a shot. It felt ok. I had ZERO with which to gauge my effort (no watch, no GPS), so I went totally on feel. I did have my HR and based on that, should have pushed a little, but I was afraid of throwing up again. At least I had privacy on the bike - the run course was too populated for barfing! I ran at what felt like was an easy pace and only picked it up a touch when the finish line was in sight. At least the weather was just right for me (I hate heat).

In retrospect, I could have probably pushed harder on the run. I think if I'd had my GPS or even a stop watch, I would have. My calves were also still sore from a hilly run on Wed, so next time, I won't do that before the race.

Stood around waiting for some friends to finish and then headed back to the pool to change for the post-race cookout that some of my friends put on. It was really difficult to know that I'd put in a very disappointing performance, have no race times to see and to watch so many of my friends get awards. I was happy for them, but really unhappy for me. It didn't help that it was dreary and freezing and that my husband opted to not come and cheer me on.


Next time, I'll rest more leading up to the race so that my legs are in top condition before it starts. I'll also be more aware of the dangers of swallowing pool water! Lastly, I'll definitely make sure to have at least a watch if not a GPS so that I have some way of monitoring my performance during the race. I guess I'm happy that I finished the race, but I had such high hopes for this year and it was a major disappointment to have it go so poorly. I guess there is always next year, right?


Once again, a well organized race. They had some problems with timing mats or chips, so many of us had no swim time until after T1. Because of this, no results were posted at the race itself. They were very quick to get the results up online (same day), so I think they did the best they could under the circumstances.