Naperville Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Again the swim was ugly. First out and back trip was not bad, BUT could feel that I was getting tired. Think I was about 5 minutes here. Second pass sucked. Was fighting myself and actually stopped a couple of times on the way back.

Just a matter of getting in the pool and putting in some high intensity + increased duration training. My strokes fine when I go easy, for shore distances, or am not panicking. This will come as I've seen improvement (albeit below expectations) over the past year.

Transition felt fast / good, but time was no better than last year. Looks like I was about where I should be for my place in the pack. However, I have 30-45 seconds available here.

Work on my lay out a bit and practice. Did not spend much time getting things set up.

My time was a couple of minutes off last year. HOWEVER, this year we had wind!!! Was extremely pleased with the bike as my effort was just right, felt like my cadence was solid, and used the gears well. Passed a ton of folks and only had maybe 5 folks go by me. I came off the bike feeling great and ready to get at the run...

Not much to do different on the course. Need to continue with my training efforts. Have seen really good results the second half of the summer since I started doing some of the longer group rides. Do need to HTFU when I am dealing with wind.

T2 went great. I was feeling awesome and thinking about putting in a solid run. Things went very quick and efficient. Looking at times, did better than folks who finished near me in the race.

Maybe work on organization a bit more; however, this one was solid.

AWESOME!!!! The hydration plan worked like a champ and the cramps stayed away. In fact it worked so well that I had to pee the entire race! Off the bike I felt great and decided that I'd build in to the run. Had my third fastes run ever here -- the other two in training w/o a swim/bike prior to it!!!! Came through mile 1 at around 8:38, hit mile two at 17:05 (8:27), final 1.1 miles was at a 7:38 pace. The plan was to start solid and build speed slowly as my body allowed. I executed perfectly. Did hit a little cramp with 400 yards to go as I started to kick it up there. Dialed back a shade / ramped a little slower for the final 400. My "dream time" would have been 25 minutes flat -- while I didn't quite get that, it's close enough.

No changes here. Found a strategy that worked. Do need to make sure I stay after the training and put in some more miles in the future.

No warm down to speak of. Again, the cardio system felt great afterwards / limiter is mileage and increasing intensity.


Preparation / time in the water and saddle.


Still think this is the best event for anyone to do as a first tri. The course is "easy", well organized and enjoyable. Had a colleague from work join me and she rocked the race with no real training.

Personally was very pleased with today. Unlike previous races had no cramps and was able to finally run the 5K. While I have not made the progress that I aspired to this year, there's been a ton of progress none the less. In addition, I've listened to my body and made gains that are sustainable and safe. Looking at my best health in decades and ready for a great off season of training and an exciting 2012!