Iron Girl Syracuse Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I was the last swimmer in the wave for a while, but as I found my groove I passed a few. My goal was to not resort to the backstroke, just warm up and find my rhythm in the front crawl, and I did, despite some waves kicking up in the water. I used the breaststroke to round the buoys and sight when I needed to, but I felt like I had a great swim. Except I was passed by a few of the wave behind me. OK, that happens. A few minutes later I was passed by a few of the wave behind them. Um, how long had I been swimming? This was starting to feel a lot longer than last year. I made it to the finish and noticed all the racers were in the water, so I knew I had been out longer than my last year’s 15 minutes. Disappointing, but I kept a smile on my face for the paparazzi. Since the race, there has been quite a bit of debate about how long the swim actually was; was last year's mismarked and a lot shorter than 600M? Or was this year closer to 800M as many of the more experienced athletes are claiming, according to their swim times?

I had a good OWS and felt prepared for that. But, I could always use more. And more speed drills in the pool. I did not feel as prepared as I could have been, this year.

I don't clip in yet, I wear the same shoes. No wetsuit, either, so minimal "work". I ran all the way into T1 this year which I hadn't done last year, so I felt good about that; my T1 this year was the same despite that, because it was further away. I felt like I handled this pretty well.

Not much, really!

This is a great course, very flat, few hills. I'm new to all this so last year the "hills" freaked me out but I've now ridden the course several times and feel like an expert, and really felt like I was flying. Which felt great. I was passed by a lot, but I passed a few. I felt like I was going pretty fast for me (though I don’t have a bike computer or watch). Mile 6 or so, I felt a few drops hit me. Did I just get splashed by someone’s water bottle? Or someone peeing on the bike? Preferable to the actual answer: it was starting to rain! We dealt with the rain on and off for the rest of the ride. Mile 16 ish, a couple of friends caught up with me and said I was haulingasss. Sweet! We rode in together, in the rain, I saw my family and the photographers and kept smiling. I made it—rode my bike in the rain and didn’t wipe out!

More hill intervals, more speed intervals. By next year I'm clipping in, getting a computer, working on keeping a steady cadence, losing weight to improve that. I was disappointed that my time was the same as last year, and slower than my training rides, but I'm going to go ahead and blame the rain. :)

It was pouring by this point, but I don't change shoes. I took a moment to swig some water and pop a gel shot before running off. Also pulled on my running skirt to help cover some bulges for those finish line photos.

Not much; next year I'll be changing my shoes but hopefully will be thinner so I can skip the skirt.

It was still pouring when I headed out; at some point it stopped and the sun came out which made it feel muggier. I ran a bit, walked at the water stop and realized I was walking faster than I run, as per usual. So I alternated the rest of the way, finishing 1 min slower than my all time slowest 5K. Frigging awesome.

I need to run faster. Badly.

Got a quickie massage from my family as I was having odd cramping under my arms. ??? Stretched.


I didn't train as hard as I should have, clearly. If I had, I know the outside factors wouldn't have affected me as much.


I won't rate this race because this and last year's are the only ones I've ever done. We had a new sponsor this year, and the swag was a little lacking, for the price.

As I walked into transition to pick up my stuff, I began to cry, I couldn’t help it. I was really disappointed in my time because I was hoping to improve upon last year. I ran into 2 Y friends, experienced triathletes, who insisted that the swim was 200M longer than last year, and that wet roads slow you down, no matter what. And that I just couldn’t compare my times from last year. We shall see.

I’m still ticked, but trying to focus on the positives:
I didn’t backstroke, I had a great swim, even if it was longer.
I ran the transitions, which I walked last year.
I biked and ran in the rain, and survived.
I had not trained as hard this year, and it showed. But despite that, I didn’t really do much worse than last year (not talking about the swim. LOL)
I have lost 7 lbs. since last year’s race.
I have now finished TWO triathlons.
Two years ago, I could barely swim enough to keep myself afloat and hadn’t been on a bike in over 20 years.
I ran a whole 5K last month with no walk breaks, one of my goals for the year.
Running is easier for me now, and I have a plan to make it faster.
Next year’s TRIATHLONS (plural) will be faster and I may even do an Oly.

I went home, showered, napped, spent the rest of the day relaxing with a beer and went out to dinner where I ate whatever I wanted before going back on the diet today. Taking a couple of days off to rest and then starting a new running plan next week (10K) which WILL include speedwork!