Charlottesville Sprint Triathlon #2 - TriathlonSprint

This was a much bigger race than the one I did in June on the same course. My goal was to get out fast and get away from the pack. All was well to the first bouy, but my goggles fogged completely owing to the warm water temps and I felt like I was swimming blind. I ran into the second bouy, got tangled a little but tried not to let it fluster me. Drafted pretty well and did the best I could. With a bigger field, there were lots of other strong swimmers out there, and lots more contact than previously. Also, with only 4 mins between the men's and women's wave, we caught up to the slower men and had to navigate around (and over--sorry!) them. Came 9th out of the water, but the first 10 were only seconds apart. Overall this was a great swim for me, especially considering how warm the water was.

Find a better goggle-defogger!

I actually just have toe clip/cages. Didn't know if triathloning was going to be "my thing" so have not invested in pedals and shoes. Love it however and am looking to upgrade my bike in the near future!

I've been working really hard on my cycling, but even so, this is an extremely difficult and hilly course. The first 3/4 mile is up a steep incline to get out of the park and then rolling hills the rest of the way. Given the warm and humid temps, I wasn't sure how this was going to go. After cursing my way out of the park, I ended up feeling much much better. Even passed 1 lady and "chicked" a handful of 1st wave guys (he he!). Bike is getting better, and this was actually a good 90s faster than my previous bike portion from the June race. 16.55 mph sounds pretty pokey (and it is) but on this course, I'll take it!

Train train train!!!

Good transition considering I don't have to change shoes!

I absolutely fell apart here. My legs had nothing left. That said, running into the forest was literally like getting out of the frying pan and into the fire. Whatever breeze might there might have been was gone the second you hit the trail. My head felt like it was going to explode and the heat and humidity were really getting to me. This was more about damage control, trying desperately not to get passed (I did by 3 amazingly fast ladies) and make to the finish in one piece. But man, that was a miserable run for me and as close to heat exhaustion as I ever want to experience!

I really need to work on the bike to run transition. This killed me in the last race too even though the weather was much better.

Had to sit down for fear of falling over followed by ice cold water poured over my head, trying to lower body temp. Truly uncomfortable, still amazed that folks were able to crank through in under 21 mins.


Definitely the heat and humidity.


The c-ville tri series has been an absolutely wonderful intro into triathloning for me. Even though its a difficult course, it is so well put together, the prizes are spectacular for a race this size and the post-race set up is great (catered BBQ for everyone!). Highly recommend this for both the newbie and experienced athlete looking for a challenging course.