Heritage Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Shotgun start for all the men and naturally the first 200m was a melee. I was used to it but until I raced a time trial start the following week I didn't realize just how ridiculous the mass start really is. Once fighting past the first turn things settled down and I was able to actually concentrate on my form and stroke. The final time wasn't spectacular but about as much as I can expect with a mass start on a short course. The swim is one of those things where you can't improve your overall time very much but you can certainly hurt it if you aren't smart. In mass start races like this I'm learning it's probably best to just take it easy and avoid major collisions or too much work so I'm warm and ready for the bike leg.

Not much. I usually stay to the outside and take the first turn wide just to avoid the battle royal. Don't kill it on mass start swims, the energy use can be big and wasted.

It's a beach exit so it was nice having a wading pool there for our feet. I wasn't paying attention and actually ran down the wrong aisle at first, costing a few seconds. Otherwise, pretty uneventful.

Nothing. I'm fine keeping my T1 under 2 minutes. But if I ever miss an award by 30 seconds or so I may change my mind.

I paid for some mistakes here. I purchased my bike the week of the race, rolled it out of the shop 3 days before the race. My only experience with it was the roughly one-hour of spinning I did while being fitted to it (props to Carl at Wooly Gs). I planned on doing a short ride before the race but it didn't happen. So after I climbed out of T1 up the ramp to the spillway it donned on me that I knew nothing about this machine that I was riding. Even worse, not only had I never ridden THIS bike, but I had never before ridden any tri-bike at all. For that matter, I had never ridden in the aero position at all. My previous races had been on my roadie with no aero bars.

Needless to say, this quickly became a 15 mile learning experience. Riding a time trial on a tri-bike is very different than riding a road bike in a pace line. Of the many things I learned a few stand out: 1) tri-bikes don't climb very well and 2) the shifters on those things are very sensitive.

Typically I would use a high gear and fast cadence and tempo my way up a climb, rarely coming out of the saddle. It's worked well for me on the roadie. When I tried to do this on my new bike I almost came to a complete stop. At first I thought I was blowing up or something. It wasn't until after the turn-around that I realized it was better to stay in a low gear, come out of the saddle early and just power up the hill. And on more than one occasion I inadvertently shifted gears, one time actually dropping down to my small front chain ring causing me to spin the pedals wildly. And holding a straight line in aero position definitely takes practice, not to mention trying to take in an energy gel while tucked at 20+ mph.

I'm sure some of the other competitors got a giggle from watching the tri-bike rookie learn on the fly, but eventually I got more comfortable. And despite all of this I still improved my avg speed from last year by 2 mph (of course, that was on a road bike but better nonetheless).

All in all it was a decent time and I really do like the new ride. Just need a little more saddle time.

The course was challenging but not overbearing. I'm pleased with the time all things considered.

Seriously? Well, it's safe to say I will never let my first ride on a new bike be in an actual race (duh!). I need to log some more miles and get more comfortable with the tri-bike. The bike leg is my weakest, but I think there is potential for improvement.

It was a shorter run so I was just going to use my barefooters/minimals. This made transition a bit quicker.

Not dwell on the sub-par performance I just did on the bike and instead focus immediately on the run.

I'm a runner converted to triathlete so this is always my strongest leg. Admittedly, I probably pushed a little harder than I should have with the heat but I wanted to grab back as much time lost on the bike as I could.

Make no mistake, it was hot! I couldn't concentrate on any splits because I felt my body baking. I didn't drink enough because each time I passed through a station I just took the cup and dumped it on my head. I think my saving grace was the many mid-afternoon runs I had been doing to acclimate to the heat for next week's race in Mississippi. But I was still very, very hot and happy to see the finish line while turning in a fairly strong time.

Be tougher mentally. The heat distracted me too much and I paid no attention to splits. I just have to recognize it as a distraction and stick to my usual routine.

Ice cold towel on my head and food at the finish. I was dehydrated and could tell I'd be sluggish the rest of the day. Downed a chocolate milk and started on the gatorade while driving home.


Inexperience on the bike and the heat on the run.


The swim is two waves so it's crowded and rough. It will be tough to perform above your usual pace. Transitions are smooth and not too crowded. The bike course has lots of hills but nothing terrible. There are some fast downhill runs. The run is flat and hot.

Well-organized and the volunteers are great. Good aid stations, good food at the end. My second year to race it and I'll be back next year.