Shelbyville Triathlon Series Race #4 - TriathlonSprint

Felt really pretty good about the swim. Passed several people. Got caught up in one large group, though, and had to slow down and wait for the log jam to clear. Choked on a little water at one point, that slowed me briefly again. Overall, I'm content with it.

I don't think I'd change anything, except continue to work on my swim fitness.

So, there's this saying that goes something like "Nothing new on race day".... yeah, I didn't pay attention.

I tried to do the flying mount thing without having practiced it. It was an abomination. My shoes flipped over and got dragged beneath the pedals, then it took me a while to flip them around so that I could at least have my feet on top of them.... it was probably the first full half mile before I got my feet into the shoes and could pick up any decent speed at all.

Anything, lol! Either practice the flying mounts, or don't attempt them.

Well, once I got my feet into the shoes and could actually ride, it went quite well. Until that point, I had gotten passed by a few people... spent the rest of the race catching and re-passing them. I felt like I moved through the course well. Calves began to cramp & knot up hard around mile 12, which is also when I really began to feel the hurt in the saddle area. Around mile 15, there was a hill that I went into the small ring for... not sure what happened, but when trying to shift back out of it, the chain got stuck between rings and stopped the pedals cold. Had to get off the bike and sort it out.... and all those people re-passed me, lol! It easily cost me a couple of minutes trying to get it going again, and the calves took the opportunity to cramp further.

Get T1 right, then maybe pay more attention to my shifting?
Besides that, I just need to get more time in the saddle. I really felt my novice-ness out there (I think I just made up a word); the ole saddle area is pretty darn sore.

So, yeah... I butchered another transition.
Came to the dismount line WAY too fast, braked hard at the last second... rear wheel came up off the ground about head-high, feet slid a bit.... somehow I managed to keep my balance, not face-plant AND recover the bike semi-gracefully. A spectator yelled out that I should get something for style points. I completely agree, lol!

If that wasn't enough, then after putting my run shoes on, I almost left transitions without my race belt. Went back and got it, then started to leave again... out the wrong way. Turn around AGAIN and head out the right way. Yeah, that rocked :-)

Ummmm.... everything, literally.

Flat out - this is the slowest 5k I've ever run in my life. Absolutely, part of it is that I'm not accustomed to running off the bike, but mostly I attribute it to me not being able to run for 6 weeks prior to the event while I rehabbed both Achilles'. On that note, both Achilles' felt GREAT!! Not even the slightest twinge from them!

Heels are healthy, time to start putting in some miles. Gotta start doing more bricks, too... my calves were like ROCKS (hmm, or bricks?) that first half mile.

Drank a lot of water, ate a banana and an orange. Stretched several times and generally kept moving and walking.


Inexperience, mental errors, and not enough training.


First race ever for me, loved it!
If I wasn't already hooked on tri's, I would be now.

With better transitions and a little more bike & run fitness, I'll be doing well.