Big Fish Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

This was a good swim for me. The wetsuit felt much better. I think I didn't have it on properly the other day. The times here seemed low but I come to find out the course is 546M, not 500M. So that makes me even happier about my time. I stayed on course and had no trouble siting either. Johnson baby shampoo DOES work to keep goggles from fogging up. My biggest problem was swimming more in the middle of the pack (vs generally being slower, near the back in the past). As a result I was constantly running into people even well after the start. Still I moved through the water well and came out of it fresh, though I had a little bit of trouble finding the zipper on my wetsuit when coming out.

Find an outside lane again and continue to work on spotting. I stayed more inside this time than in the past so that I'd have an easier time spotting but I'm not sure bouncing from swimmer to swimmer in the middle of that was preferable. If I'm having trouble with the wetsuit do it AFTER crossing the swim exit. I'd prefer those wasted 5-10 seconds count against my T1 time than my swim time.

Other than finding the zipper on the wetsuit (which was technically while I was still in the water), T1 went pretty well. I'd biked in running shoes in the past but was using some old school biking shoes this time around. Got them on no problem and was on my way to the bike start.

Not much

This course was hillier than what I'd done in the past and am used to training on so how I handled the hills was my biggest concern. I'd seen them the day before so knew somewhat what to expect. Going out you were going downhill most of the way and I even hit 39mph at one point. Knowing I'd have to climb that same hill on the way back way in the back of my mind. I handled it pretty well. Got into a good low gear when I should have and stood up in the saddle for that extra push here and there.

I was using old school bike shoes with the toe cages and fumbled away a few seconds trying to get one of my feet into the cage. I've practiced this but apparently not enough to do it lightning fast in the heat of a race. I need to practice this more, until I go clipless that is. This likely cost me some valuable seconds at the start of the bike.

Pretty good T2. I biked with bike shoes for the first time so it was the first time having to change shoes in T2. It went pretty well. Had a little snafu where I re-racked my bike and it felt off the rack so I picked it up and racked it again, losing a few seconds.

Rack my bike better.

My Olympic training volume had my legs feeling just fine after the bike, however the last hill climb on the bike had my heartrate up a bit more than usual so I couldn't bust out as fast on the run as I wanted. After about maybe one-half to three-fourths of a mile I was able find a rhythmn and push the pace some more. A few times I busted out into some all out running efforts which I frequently do when running training 5k but they were brief today. Overall it's my best time in a tri for a run, but I felt I could have done a little better. I'm still seeking that elusive goal of a sub 7:00 5K in a tri running off the bike. Getting closer but still not quite there.

I could have possibly pushed harder in miles 1-2 and still had enough left at the end. Just need to make sure the bike conditioning and/or race effort is such that it can set up my run effectively.

Stupid flubs with my equipment. Not finding my wetsuit zipper, not getting mounted on the bike fast enough, misracking my bike in T2. My hill training on the bike still needs a little work.


3D as usual was excellent with the Event. I would do it again. The bike course was a blast despite a couple of tiring (but not overwhelming) hill climbs. Going down them was a blast though. This was my best overall finish in a sprint, which I had kind of expected given my training volumes since January. Now I'll spend the rest of the season getting humbled at the Olympic distance.