South Shore Triathlon - Sprint - TriathlonSprint

Oh, that swim stank. Water was lovely; no waves to speak of. I thought I could position myself to the outside and be able to swim instead of wade, but then the water got too shallow, and I had to wade anyway. Really threw off my breathing and HR, so that by the time I really COULD swim, I was panting too hard to do so properly. Ugh. Sighting was good, but I'm just damn slow. Got passed by someone the wave after who was *walking*. Ugh.

Resist the temptation to blow myself out on water-jogging before I hit the swim. Consider getting tri shorts (although I doubt my time was limited by my outfit!).

Route was a boardwalk run up the beach, the 'round the field house to xition. Found my spot very easily, and had juice to run most of the way. Racking by bib# meant that most of the bikes were gone when I got there, so lots of space to maneuver (one benefit of a later wave!). Had a GU chomp and some water before going out. Wearing the tri top for the swim def saved some time. No sox.

Not much. Maybe dry feet off?

Goal for this race was to leave everything on the bike course and give my bike (Aelinor) a good last run. While I'm not sure I pushed 100%, I know it was harder than I normally would. I was stymied at times by the lack of lower gears and the difficulty shifting and finding the desired gear (5-10 secs/shift). Also, my shoulders got a bit numb towards the end. On the good side, the clipless shoes worked great (no numb toes!!), with little problem getting in and out (or on/off).

I hate to say it, but I think I need a different bike. This one is not sized nor geared properly for me at this point, and I need to stop hating the bike portion. Mentally prepping to unclip, and doing so early and turning over the pedals DEFINITELY helped for a clean dismount.

Mentally prepping to unclip, and doing so early and turning over the pedals DEFINITELY helped for a clean dismount. Ran most of the way down the loooong chute and found the spot w/out problem. Water and 2 GU chomps out for the run, feeling strong. Dried off feet and remembered to double-tie laces. :) No sox.

Zip laces!

Felt super-strong coming out of xition, and grabbed water at the exit. Walked a bit soon after, but still had a decent first mile. Didn't walk at all the second mile, but def slowed and walked more the last mile. Still not sure if this is conditioning or food or water (prob all). Sprinted HARD the last 100 yards to the finish--felt GREAT. Thought for sure I'd be slower as I'd pushed harder on the bike, so maybe I can bike even harder next time. Oh, and the plastic chip strap started biting into my foot towards the end, and I now have two "vampire bite" cuts on my ankle.

Other than continue training (esp. bike), not much. Maybe get my own chip strap.

Got an ice pack for my knees/ankles and a bottle of water at the finish. Wish there had been food at the finish other than a paid concession stand selling chips and water ice. There were lovely ice tubs with finisher towels, so cooled down with that for a bit. Walked around, found friends, and made my way back to xition to get my gear. Nice change to have xition open as soon as I finished.


Conditioning and my dislike of the bike portion.


Didn't make it over to the post-race party--wish there had been food at the finish. Having the party and the finish in separate spots made for a rather sad finish area. Ice tubs and water towels were great, tho. No finish medals, either, but I MUCH prefer the snazzy (and useful!) back-pack we got in the registration packet to a medal that will only gather dust.

Would have been nice if there'd been a course talk, although the race was well-enough organized and routes clearly marked that it wasn't a big problem.

Overall, I had a great time, even if I didn't do so well. Gotta remember that mixed races will always pull a different crowd than the women-only events, and that it's not likely that I'll beat a male half my age. :)