CapTexTri - TriathlonSprint

For my first triathlon, I had prepared to swim over a mile nonstop in the water freestyle, but unfortunately in Amarillo, Texas I could only train in a swimming pool. The open water experience was much different, and I believe my time should have been way better than it was. I need to work on sighting. I felt like open water swimming sort takes all your sensory input away.

I had a road bike and mountain bike shoes. I practiced transition a few times, but I think maybe different road bike shoes might have helped. I didn't have the shoes already clipped in. Also, the distance from the swim ramp to the sprint distance bike area was the furthest away. I ran pretty quick to my bike, but definitely felt like weights on my legs after the swim.

I would like a triathlon bike instead of a road bike, but I am still learning how to get better at cycling. I passed quite a few people on my road bike. I had been training on hills in palo duro canyon in amarillo with a cycling group. I know my time is still really slow, but I now have some times to work on improving.

The heat was really picking up as the sprint group and my age group were the last to go. The sun came up right as we had started our swim and during the run it was out in full force.

I drank Gatorade while biking. I almost felt I was going to throw up once I started out on my run. I had to slow down to gain some composure.

I'm pretty disappointed with my run time. I ran cross-country and track in high school, and this pace and time is terrible for me. I need to start doing some interval training to get more comfortable with my running. This should be my strongest area of the race, but I think I focused a lot more on the cycling and the swim portion for my training.

train better for my run as I want this to be my strongest portion of any triathlon

I did not warm up, but I think I should have taken a dip in the water before my race.


Adjusting to the swim in open water. I also think a triathlon bike would have been better than a road bike. I really did not have much to go off of since this was my first triathlon. I knew this would be a practice run, and I could better identify my strengths and weakness for my next race. My goal is to do the Olympic distance in October this year along with a few more sprint triathlons over the summer.

Besides this, I am a full-time student and working around my studies and work schedule was a challenge. I am pleased to have finished and only really disappointed with my running.


I think the CapTexTri was really hard to pull for the organizers as there were about 3,000 participants and thousand more spectators for the event. It was really enjoyable and one of the largest races I have ever down.

There was some disorganization this year with timing, male/female mix-ups, registration issues for some due to computer difficulties, and apparently a police officer on a jet ski mislead the pros on the swim portion. Andy Potts apparently ignored him and finished the swim portion correctly despite almost being run over by the jet ski. So there was some miscommunication, but I think some of this is to be expected with such a large event.

I'll be back next year if I can swing it around work.