Catfish Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Swim was good. Had a good start without spiking my HR. Saw there was a group ahead of me but I let them go. Still don't have the swimming speed to stay with the lead group. Settled into a nice pace and felt really good. The river had more current than expected and was cooler than expected. the thunderstorms over the past couple days made a big difference.

I loved the sleeveless wetsuit. A huge different in warm water compared to a full suit. No overheating issues. Came out of the water less than a minute behind some of the other top guys...which isn't too bad for me.

Nothing.

Sleeveless is much easier to remove than a full suit. Suit came off easy. Happy with T1.

Nothing.

On my bike and up to speed quickly. Passed a bunch of people in the first few miles. Seemed like there was a bit of a headwind on the out portion of the course. One guy passed me around the 5 mile mark. I stayed with him for a while but let him go after I realized I wasn't feeling great on the bike.

I expected to be faster after the turnaround and had thoughts of catching the guy that passed me. I could still see him a hundred yards or so up the road. I just couldn't seem to get into that extra gear. No tailwind that I expected. I probably didn't rest enough in the days leading up to the race. It reminded me of some of the time trials I do without really resting beforehand.

I still had a great bike but I think I can get better. I need to try a different approach to training and perhaps warming up 20-30 minutes on the bike before these short events. I just never seem to get comfortable on this short courses. By the time I get in a rhythm, the race is over. Long course definately suits me better. Hilly courses suit me better as well. I can definately put more space between myself and some of the other guys if a few hills/climbs are added to the race.

I did make up some time on a few guys in front of me in the last mile or so going over the bridge. Made up some more time in T2. Easily passed them on the run. So maybe something can be said for biking less than 100%.

Warm-up on the bike for 20-30 minutes. Perhaps some more focused training for short course. Short bikes just don't suit me for some reason.

Fast T1. One of the fastest of the day. Nothing to say here.

Nothing

I started off the run feeling pretty good. I saw a handful of guys within 100 yards of me. Picked up the pace after 200 yards or so and started reeling them in. I wasn't sure if they were duathlon or triathlon. I passed about 4-5 guys in the first mile. There were only two other guys in front of me at this point and they were well ahead. At the turn around, I was about a minute behind. I had a quick thought that I might be able to catch at least one of them. That quickly faded. Too much to ask to make up a minute in 1.5 miles. After I got to the bridge back to the finish, I slowed up a bit and just cruised in. Nobody behind me and the two guys ahead were about to cross the finish line. Probably could have finished 15-20 seconds faster if I had to.

Turns out one of the two guys ahead was in the duathlon so I finished 2nd overall....about 50 seconds out of first.

Very good run. Happy with the pace and effort. Too bad my bike was a little disappoining or I might have been able to win.

Nothing.

No warm down. I chatted with some of the other guys and hung out with Sue. We walked over to the kids triathlon and I volunteered to help out with the swim.


Disappointed in my bike. This is my 3rd time doing this race and I've improved on the bike each time...but I feel like I've hit a plateau on the bike. I should have been in much better bike shape than 2009 but didn't really show that on Sunday.


Great local race. Non USAT race which makes things more low key. Kids race was a great idea and I plan on having my kids do that race when they get older. Highly recommended for a first timer or an experienced triathlete looking for a low key race with a good vibe.