Fronhofer Tool Triathlon - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

This swim was the most congested that I had experienced. I still don't have a ton of confidence in my swimming ability so I hung back at the start. I was positioned about in the middle. The first leg out to the turn buoy was crowded. Nothing crazy as far as contact goes but just a feeling that everybody was in the way! Because of the crowd I found myself lifting my head way more then I wanted to. Once past the first turn I found some open water and got into a bit of a rhythm. At this point I felt like I was overheating and at that moment I had thoughts of regret that I choose to wear a wetsuit. I continued on and had some awkward sighting moments throughout but I felt like it went fairly well. Having to run the beach before entering the water for a second loop was a new experience for me. When I re-entered the water I felt my heart rate racing and my breathing was shallow. I quickly got myself into my happy place mentally and got my breathing and heart rate back under control. The rest of the swim thinned out and I didn't have any major congestion problems. Hit the beach and jogged up the hill to the transition without incident.

The decision to wear a wetsuit was a poor choice. We were told that we would still get our times recorded but wearing the wetsuit would preclude us from receiving any awards. My rationale for deciding to wear it had been that awards and podium positions were not within my reach so it wouldn't matter. What wasn't clear to me was that we would be scored in a separate "wetsuit" category. I understand why but it just wasn't clear. Had I know that I would have left it in my bag. I was mad at myself because I know that I am capable of swimming that distance without it because I had done it several time in OWS workouts prior to race day.

I don't have any desire to do the flying leap at this stage. My transition time is just fine for me.

Nothing.

My cycling is slow. No two ways about it. An average speed for me is 15 mph over the thousands of miles that I have ridden over the past five years. While I felt like I was doing pretty well on the course my avg MPH was within my range of expectations. This was my first time using clip on aero bars on my road bike. While I liked the bars I don't think I was very aero. My bike is a custom geometry which has a tall profile to match my height. I love the bike and find it to be extremely comfortable but it is not very aero. My race plan was to go easy on the hills and hard on the descents. On the flats I would go hard until the last couple of miles. My plan for the end of the bike leg was to spin easier to save my legs for the run. I ended up backing off but don't think it really did much to impact my overall time. I felt good coming off the bike and ready for the run. Maybe a little too good?

I wouldn't change much. I still feel like a road bike is the right choice for my non-flexible lanky body. My primary concern is being comfortable over long distances and I think I finally have a bike that meets that requirement. I will continue to focus on my fitness first and maybe think about adding thinks to my bike to make it a little more aero for future races.

Transition went very smoothly. I had gone back to my road shoes and Speedplay pedals over mtn bike shoes and SPD's. I had no difficulty getting the shoes on or off.

Nothing

My race plan for the run was to run a pace that is within my ability. To me that would have been between 8:00 and 9:00 mins per mile for a 10k distance. This expectation was set based on my training. The run is not a real strong suit for me and I have very little experience with this distance. That said my plan was to run the best pace I could between aid stations grabbing a drink and some Heed at each one as I took a 45 sec walk break. I did this for most and ended up dumping some water on my head and drinking some. I got to the point where I felt too much liquid had gone into my stomach so much of the remaining aid stations were just for a walk break and a water dunk down my back to cool off.

Maybe push the pace a little harder. Definitely need to gear future training plans to add in more long runs.

Grabbed an ice cold water and walked around before settling in for a nice post race lunch.


Not training hard enough, poor choice to wear the wetsuit, not pushing myself hard enough in the race.


This race is awesome! It was my first time doing the race and will definitely plan on returning next year. The race director did a phenomenal job and the volunteers were amazing! There was such a positive vibe around this race and best of all the proceeds support a good cause. Highly recommended!