Stanford Treeathlon - TriathlonSprint

During the first 250 yards or so, there was lots and lots of bumping and pushing going on -- no surprise. But I survived. I eventually managed to find a groove. But I was breathing every two strokes, instead of three. I just couldn't hold a longer pattern. I'm guessing my breathing issues must have been due to the cold water and crowded conditions. Overall, I was somewhat satisfied with my swim. I checked my watch just after I got out of the water, and I was at about 10:15. But I still had a 1/3 mile run to the transition area, which added several minutes to my time. The post-swim run was actually the toughest part of the swim leg. It took a while for the blood to return to my legs just so I could sorta jog/run. Anyway, no excuses. Everybody faced the same thing I did...

The main mistake I made was starting in the left-middle near the front. I thought that staying as close to the buoys as possible was the best route to take. The problem was, EVERYBODY else was thinking the same exact thing. It seemed like every swimmer in the race converged directly in MY PATH. Hmmppph. :-)

T1 went as planned.

I was hoping to get my time down in the 33-minute range, but it didn't happen. I might have been too conservative. My legs seemed to loosen up by the third lap, so I might have just been cold. Who knows...

It's still early in the season, so I can't really make any assumptions yet. I've mostly been focused on endurance during the winter. But I know that I now need to add some regular bike intensity workouts to my schedule. I just didn't have enough umph in my legs to find any more speed. It'll come -- I hope.

I had some issues unclipping my helmet and putting on my socks. I guess it didn't cost me too much time, though.

Practice unclipping my helmet and putting on my socks. Unfortunately, I still need to wear socks when I run..

If the course distance is accurate, this was a 5K PR for me -- in or out of a triathlon. I managed to find a groove and stayed with it. I kept thinking I might cramp up, but it didn't happen. I had a decent kick at the end (well, for a geezer like me, anyway).

I think I was too afraid of cramping up. I'm not sure why I was worried -- it's only a 5K, and the temperature was reasonably cool. I should have pushed the pace earlier. But I can't complain. A PR is a PR.

Walk around, stretched a bit.


I probably didn't get amped up enough to put in a solid bike leg. Usually, I'm fighting hard on my bike to make up for a poor swim.


Lots and lots of college kids in the race -- it was sponsored by the Stanford Triathlon Club. Anyways, I felt really, really old. This was my first official race in the 50-54 AG.