MinneMan Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I was surprisingly calm at the start. I ran a short way into the water than then started swimming. It was a little over knee deep, but running in the water still isn't good on the ankle. I was able to pass runners while swimming. My sighting was horrible. Made contact a few times with other swimmers, but each of us moved apart. It was very calm in the water. While I was average for my age group and below average for all the women, I'm still really happy with my swim, it was faster pace than my first tri and twice the distance.

Time to work on some speed on the swim. Distance endurance is good.

Long run into transition. I found my bike right away -- My bike was the only one on that side of the rack. The rest of them were pointing the other way. I changed mine around shortly before transition closed because it was crowded on the other side. I rinsed the sand from my feet and put socks and shoes on. I also took an extra puff on my inhaler. I did a running mount and got up to speed quickly. Fun note - DKT ran past me on my way in. He had finished his Oly swim and bike and was already heading out on the run - wicked fast!!

Run a little faster from the swim

The first 5 miles were really good with a 19.3 average. Dropped speed after that, but I think it was a slight elevation loss in the first 5 miles compared to the rest of the course. I did quite a bit of passing and was passed by several speedy people. Fastest bike split of the year, but not a PR. I did that about a year ago on a similar course when I was in better shape.

Work on more speed.

Found my rack easily and got shoes switched quickly.

Learning a moving dismount.

The run started out on the grass alongside of transition/parking lot. About 20 yards into the run I jammed by ankle on an uneven part of the grass. I pulled up and hopped a few steps. I was able to go back to normal running a short time later. My body was pretty tired at this point. Luckily there were lots of people around and kept working to pick people off. It got hot. My pace fell off. Pretty exhausted by the finish but I ended up racing a tall guy running into the finish - I heard him behind me and thought he was one of women I had recently passed.

I still need to work on endurance for an 1 1/2 hour race. Work on tempos as part of long runs.

I sat on the ground for a while with Dave bringing me water. I over did it - I'm not at the proper level of fitness yet. Did some walking around and a short swim. I loved the swim - really cooled me off. However my ankle didn't like me and was hurting. It still hurt Sunday morning.


I need to build back to 2:00 + hour workouts. I also need to remember how far I've come in the last two months and not were I used to be last year.


It was a really well organized race. Volunteers were plentiful. Course felt really safe. Post race there was one water station at the end of the race. Had to keep going back for a cup of water. Would have been nice to have more water stations at the end. Food was a breakfast burrito. I didn't really care for it - I didn't want a spicy, cheese, gooey lump of food after working so hard. Gear West's Kevin O'Connor was grilling hot dogs - those hit the spot.

After the race I was exhausted and had a horrible headache. I took a half hour nap in the afternoon but still couldn't keep my eyes open after dinner. The headache lasted into Sunday. I think both are related to over doing.

Note 3 women in my age group were in the top 7 of overall non-elite women. How cool is that??