Muncie Labor Day Weekend Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

The Ohio State Buckeye’s tri team really got my blood flowing a few minutes before the start of the swim. They were humming several of the Buckeye’s popular songs and doing the O-H-I-O chant. What a great start to a race!!!!

The swim start was an individual start with an athlete starting every 5 seconds. Since I was not a strong swimmer I tried to position myself in the last half. I did not want everyone to have to pass me but I also did not want to be the last one out of the water.

Once it was my turn I ran into the water and started the swim. It was the first time I had worn a wetsuit and I was surprised at how much it helped me. Before I knew it I was at the first turn. I was also shocked that at that point no one had passed me. I handled the long straightaway with little difficulty as well. During that time I passed a couple of people and a couple passed me.

I then passed the final left turn and was on my way to the home stretch of the swim. I made my first newbie mistake here. As I was getting closer to the shore I started to see people standing the in water and running to the shore. They were only 10 yards or so ahead of me so I thought I would be able to stand as well. That was not the case and I had my only mishap of the swim. After sinking a bit I recovered and swam until my hand hit sand.

Overall I was happy with my swim and very excited that I actually passed people.



I may have positioned myself in the first half at the starting line. It would have been interesting to see how I would have done if I had more competion passing me. I will also keep swimming until my hand hits sand at the final portion of the swim.

I took my time during T1 and it shows it. It was slow compared to others. There was a long run from the beach to the transition area. I did get a big smile on my face seeing my wife Loretta cheering me on one the way up the hill to the transition area.

Once I arrived at the transition area I took my time to make sure I had my glasses on, helmet on and shoes on. I also took my time un-racking my bike. I did not want to knock everyone’s bike over during my first triathlon. I did do a run/walk from to the bike out.

Once I was through the bike out I had no problems getting my cleats into my pedals. Several of the athletes around me were having problems. My wife also said one athlete crashed right out of the bike out. She felt bad for him as he was a college athlete and was near the front of the race.


Nothing since it was my first Tri. I will practice transitions before my next tri though.

The bike ended up being my worst segment of the day. It was obvious about 10 minutes into the bike that I had not spent enough time preparing for the bike portion. Many people passed me during the bike ride and I only passed a few. I was happy with my overall average MPH. In most of my training rides I only averaged 16-17 MPH and ended up averaging over 18.

I will certainly spend more time on the bike during the winter months.

It was exciting to see my wife right beside me watching during the transition. She did make fun of me afterwards for taking my time and sitting down to change shoes.

The time was slow but overall I was not unhappy with this transition. I did not knock over any bikes and made it safely though the transition area without any mishaps.

Nothing for this race. But will practice for future races.

The run went as expected other than one mishap. During T2 I forgot to put on my number so after leaving T2 I had to run back in to get it. This added about a min to my run time. The run felt good and I probably could have pushed a little harder. During the run I passed many and no one passed me.

Not forget my number in T2. Rookie mistake that will never happen again...lol

I have never been one to warm down. After the race I immediately met up with my wife Loretta to share all the exciting stories from the race. The funny thing was she had as many stories as I did.


Nothing limited my performance other than things that were in my own control.

Need to get swim lessons.
Need to train harder on the bike
Need to practice transitions and be more organized in transition areas. For a sprint distance I took way to much clutter into the transition area.



This was a great experience and it gave me a lot to think about over the winter. The venue was exceptional and there were many volunteers everywhere. It was such a good experience my wife Loretta now has the triathlon bug and plans to do one next summer.