The Rookie Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

Since this was my first open water swim, I tried to position myself all the way to the outside and as close to the front as I could. I thought I might be able to get out front but wasn't sure (I swam in high school, but that was a loooong time ago and I'm a lot slower than I used to be). My line to the first bouy wasn't fantastic (a little wide), but by the time I got there I had passed most in my wave and had a pretty clear swim from there on out.

The run from the lake to the transition area was a couple hundred yards and felt better than I expected. Grabbed my glasses and helmet and jogged to the mount line. I had my shoes clipped in and ready to go. I had practiced running mounts where you do the mini-hop on one leg and land on your other thigh. In the race though I flipped a shoe around and almost ate it in front of everyone. Fortunately I didn't, put my feet on top of my shoes, and got going in a not-so-graceful manner.

Practice a lot more running mounts. I need to find a better way to orient my near side pedal so it isn't just hanging. (I tried the rubber band thing - just didn't work well in practice... may have to try some more.)

I'm not very fast on the bike. About a quarter of the way through the bike it started feeling like revisiting my breakfast might be a possibility, so I backed off a bit - probably too much. There was one really short hill on the back half that was nice and steep - made me jealous of the people who rode their mountain bikes.

Forgot to reset my bike computer during setup (so wasn't able to track my average speed). Doh.

So coming up the hill to transition I got all pumped up when I saw my wife and son... and then completely forgot to take my feet out of my shoes before the transition line. Then when I saw it, it was too late so I just unclipped and ran my bike in with my shoes on. Doh. Took me a bit of time to get my bearings straight - taking off biking shoes, then putting on socks and shoes. Meant to take my glasses off prior to the run, but forgot (and realized that about 1/4 mile into the run).

Be more prepared for the flow at the end of the bike - take my feet out of my shoes well before the transition line (and ideally on a downhill portion of the course).

Like the bike portion, running is not my strong suit. I'm slow, I know it, and that's ok. I finished physical therapy for a knee issue a few months ago, and have been building my running base very slowly to avoid injury. I'll get there eventually - it's just going to take time. When I left transition, one of the volunteers told me, "don't let that kid pass you!" Ha! 50 yards later, a 15-year old passed me with ease and then proceeded to leave me in the dust.

With time, build up a good running base and then work on speed.

Met up with my wife and son, drank some water, and snacked on some food (ice cream!).


My fitness level.


This was my first triathlon and I had a lot of fun. I just need to work on my bike and run and get some more practice hopping on the bike.