TDD Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

At first passed a lot of swimmers but then got blocked by a clot of slow swimmers churning up the water and swerving right-left; could not pass in the last third of the swim; the consensus in transition area was that the swim seemed awfully crowded;
Concentrated on staying CALM and breathe well and swim smoothly. Wetsuit=fabulous!

not hang back at the start; be in the front of the mob; warm up a bit more and start more aggressively to get out of the crowd early on.

quick as I could go while trying to stay calm, not trip, not forget something, etc; I'm satisfied with it for my first race.

move quicker

Passed quite a few people in the first 2 miles and was only passed by two (younger) women. Asthma attack evident by mile 2 and lasting duration of bike, somewhat panicky during second half, nearly stopped, legs felt fine, muscle strain along upper spine from straining to breathe; very disappointing; could have ridden much faster if I had been breathing normally! ugh.

well, now I have an albuterol inhaler, never to repeat this scenario.

yanks laces = excellent; cumbersome to remove cycling shoes while struggling to breathe, nearly fell over

it would be great to have Tri-specific bike shoes

felt crummy, breathing eased gradually during the run segment but upper back muscle pain persisted; walked briefly a few times (uphills); tried to thank - or at least nod at - all the volunteers

Shocking that I felt so bad, yet my pace was better than my typical runs; I think I should be running a lot faster on a regular basis.

antihistamine + inhaler, push harder

Thankful to see my mentor/coach mav!!


asthma due to extremey high weed pollen, unfamiliar with bike course


Beautiful clean lake, $ proceeds to a great cause, perfect weather, grateful for 'mav' and her encouragement (& wetsuit!), delighted to see familiar faces among the volunteers. Finishing 3rd among Athenas, and receiving a medal and a prize, was quite a surprise. Still shaking my head over that one.