Spring Migration Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Was seeded 18th overall swimmer, which made me feel pretty good...until, half-way through the bike I came up with the remarkable thought that sprinting through the swim does not a good triathlon make. I was passed by the guy behind me (and we were separated by 20 second intervals), but he had the 3rd fastest time overall and had been incorrectly seeded. Still, he passed me at a lane end, messed up my turn, and gave my confidence a hit. Wasn't a good swim.

Seed myself slower. Of the 40 guys who did better than me, 26 has slower swims. Of the 66 that did "worse" than me, only 1 had a better swim. I've proven to myself that A) I can swim, and B) it doesn't matter. If I went 2 whole minutes slower, I would have had far more energy for the bike, and easily made up a lot more time. The transition from bike-to-run is much more easily practiced, and for me to race well, I'm going to have to take the swim more easily so my first quarter on the bike isn't just trying to get my breathing under control from swimming.

Therefore, the swim gets an "average", for while I was happy with my time, I was upset at how it affected my overall race.

This is still obviously my weak sport, which is upsetting because I've been doing a fair amount of bike work (though obviously not enough), and thought I would be improving. The bike is where the race is made or broken, the run is where it is won or lost. The difference is subtle, but all important. I can't run to win until I bike to put myself in position to win. I think it will take a year before I am as comfortable on the bike as I am in the pool, and 3-4 years until I am as comfortable as running, if ever.

Drank enough water, though, which was good.

I still don't have my own bike, and borrowed a friend's. My first time on it, first time with cleats, and first time on a road bike, ever, was the day before the race. My job has made me forget my racing schedule, which is good in some ways, but doesn't help me prepare for the race like I should. That's just mental discipline.

My biking will improve, and I'm confident I will be moving up in the ranks much more quickly than others, because I have so much potential to explore. Therefore, the bike gets an "average" for how I did compared to how I wanted to do, but nowhere near where I want to be.

Poor run for me, not sure why. I actually had to walk at the beginning off the bike, but got into the groove about mid-way, and really pushed it the second half.

Practice bricks more true to race form. I'd been concentrating on running a little after long bike workouts, which is good, but means nothing if I don't do both the bike and the run at race pace to know how it will affect my body.

Didn't. Just ate some, drank some water, and headed back to town.


I've been getting enough volume, but not enough intensity. I've been training more for Olympic length races this offseason, though, so I have to recognize that. The word to describe the race is "mediocre", but it is early in the season, and I have a long way to go.


I was quite happy with the organization. The race did start about 15 minutes late and for no apparent reason. But they had plenty of volunteers, and everywhere they needed to be.