Long Branch Sprint Triathlon Series Race #2 - Short Course - TriathlonSprint

This was my first OWS in a race setting without freaking out! Given that I was really happy despite the comparatively slow time (I think this was because of the long jog back to transition). I tried to draft but I don't have much experience with it. I handled the crowd alright with some contact but had a little trouble finding space to pass, which also slowed things down.

Draft better; be more aggressive about contact / passing; not worry because the course is probably wrong i.e too short / long!

Dude, what was I doing in here??? Time for speed laces. (I use toe clips and haven't stepped up to actual cycle shoes yet, so my run shoes go on here.) I remember consciously taking my time but it was so slow.

Speed laces - see above. Also, stop spacing out, reading a novel, eating a sandwich or whatever it was that kept me so ridiculously long.

I felt great about my bike. As a noob this was the fastest I've gotten it going.

I would have had more to drink and brought some shot blocks along, because I felt tired and dried out on the run. Was this a pacing issue? I don't know, but the bike left me feeling good.

I was happy with my time but when I was running with the bike toward the rack my pedal took a bite out of the back of the knee.

Not cut the back of my leg! But nothing else. Good transition.

I wasn't feeling the run. I think it was a heat and hydration issue. However, I've also yet to come to terms with the fact that my tri run times will not be comparable to my stand-alone run times. If I think of this race as a 15k (given the duration of the effort) the pace doesn't look too bad, although it's still not my 15k PR pace much less my 5k pace. HOWEVER I kept telling myself that mental toughness trumps pure physical ability, so I was happy when I kept plodding past people who were walking but who looked like they'd be faster than me if they ran.

As noted above, I needed to drink more and maybe take in a bit of nutrition on the bike, which I didn't because I thought I wouldn't need it in such a shortish race. It wasn't bad, though. More bricks and race specific training would probably also be helpful.

Ate some fruit and obtained some drinks. I really wanted fluids. Stretched some a while later and put on compression sleeves while waiting for results.


Not enough bricks, lack of nutrition on bike, needed more hydration (time to install a second cage). More OWS experience couldn't hurt; I could have gone faster had I had a better idea of how to get around everybody without wasting too much energy.


I had a great time and didn't expect all that much, since this is just a local tri club's summer series. Very friendly group, and from the preliminary results it looks like I took first Athena, which I never would have expected! I'll try to update when the real results are posted online.