Riverwood Golf and Athletic Club Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Seeded 1:42 for this swim since I felt a little slow lately and at the last event. I was pretty much alone for the entire swim until the last lap when I caught a guy who started 4-5 spots in front of me. I kept pretty much equal pace the whole swim with the guy who started in front of me, and the guy who started behind me drifted away to the point I was a whole lane ahead at the end. I swam up next to the guy I was passing on the last lane and climbed out of the pool instead of taking the stairs. Made the long run to T1 - probably 100 meters - so that took some time (probably about 10 seconds, ha!). Felt my actual swim time was pretty close to the 1:40-1:42 mark.

Maybe seed a little higher - 1:40/100 is probably about right for me. Still need to work on swim speed because it's my weakest area right now.

Another PR T1 for me. Everything seemed to go smoothly, and I felt like it was a pretty fast transition. Dumped my cap and goggles, put on my socks and bike shoes, put on my helmet and glasses, and grabbed my bike. Ran the bike across the mat and did my best flying mount. Took a little too long getting clipped in and out of the parking lot, though. Managed to remember to start my computer as I crossed the timing mat.

Put my sunglasses on after out of T1 - tape them to the bike next time.

Another strong bike for me which backs up my performance at Granite Falls. I made the decision pre-race to go all out on the bike and not worry about the run too much. My pre-race goal was sub 42 minutes. I started my bike computer as I was running it out across the timing mat, and upon turning back in to Riverwood I was averaging 20.9 mph. Ended up with 20.6 mph average per the computer. Had a little mishap leaving T1 when going over one of the speedbumps my handlebars twisted downward in the stem clamp. I was able to torque up on my aerobars and get them to come back up, but it still wasn't in the sweet spot. I pulled out onto Smithfield and settled in for the ride.

I passed a couple of riders on Smithfield and made a good fast turn onto Covered Bridge. There was a steady string of bikes ahead, so I focused on them one at a time while pushing myself hard. After a couple of miles I had passed around 10 bikes when I felt someone behind me. A guy pulled by me and I let him get ahead, but I managed a surge of speed and pulled back by him. We ended up passing each other back and forth a couple times, but I stayed far enough to the side to not draft. I made the turn onto Wendell and remembered the course headed downhill for a while, so I passed the guy I was battling with and put the hammer down. Got up into 53/11 and layed down some good speed on Wendell - probably passed a dozen riders. On Wendell I started getting annoyed with the rough roads and was looking forward to getting on some smoother pavement.

Before I knew it I was to Bissette, so I took a good left and looked back to see the guy I was battling with earlier about 100 feet behind me. I took a drink and passed a couple more riders before I hit some climbs where the guy came back around me again. I couldn't hang on the climb, so I drifted back a bit but kept digging deep determined not to let him out of my sights. By the time I crossed buffalo I was about 100 feet behind and was getting more irritated with the rough roads. I was also getting a little numb in the nether regions, probably due to all the vibration, so I was looking forward to getting out of the saddle on a climb.

Once I crossed back into Wake county the roads were paved with fresh, smooth asphalt and I felt instatly better. I felt like I picked up some more speed, and I was able to mostly reel in the guy I was chasing while passing a few more riders. I got out of the saddle on one climb to get a little blood flow back to ease the numbness. I turned onto smithfield and put the hammer down because I knew it was mostly downhill until the last big climb. At the bottom of the hill before the climb I had finally caught the other guy and hit 38.6 mph peak. Just before the climb I was averaging 21.4mph, and I was pushing to keep it above 21 for the loop.

On the climb I got out of the saddle a few times and tried to hammer up the long hill. I actually felt pretty good and was able to keep it in the big ring for the entire climb. My average did drop below 21, but I felt I still had a good time as I turned back into Riverwood. After the speedbump I realized I needed to get out of my shoes, so I pulled one foot out before I made the turn. My shoe was upside down and started dragging on the ground as I made the chicane (doh!), but I managed to get it flipped and got my other foot out as well. Screwing around with the shoes cost me a ton of time, though. I should have either pulled them out earlier or just unclipped and ran with the shoes into T1.

Overall I was happy with my average and performance on the bike.

Get out of my shoes sooner - this is the second time I've wasted time trying to do this too late. Maybe look into some aero goodies because I feel like my regualr helmet and training wheels are holding me back a bit. There were a lot of bikes with sweet aero wheels in transition!

Pretty good T2 except for the issue of getting out of my bike shoes. I racked my bike, tossed my helmet, and grabbed by running shoes and race belt. I put my race belt on while on the fly, so that saved some time. The fastest T2 was 13 seconds faster - maybe I could save some time if I didn't have my bike racked on the full inside?

Nothing

Felt pretty good on the run, especially leaving T1. Definitely felt better starting the run than at Granite Falls. Felt like I had some good speed early, but I held back just a bit because I knew it would be mostly uphill on the way back. Settled into a good pace behind a lady who was moving out pretty good. Probably passed 8-10 runners before the long downhill on Charleston when I was able to use my long legs to get around her. I used her passing me back as motivation to keep the pace up on the run. I was able to relax a little on the Charlestown downhill and down along the flat of the river before the turn around. The return trip on the neighborhood after the turnaround went pretty fast, and before I knew it I was on the big climb. I slowed down quite a bit, but managed to get to the top without redlining too much. Grabbed some water from the aid station and settled down running around the lake just a bit before the last steep climb. I gave it all I had in the last leg and made it up the hill before sprinting with all I had left to the finish line.

Get better on the hills and running off the bike. My open time is still pretty good (Mid 21s), but my speed off the bike is lacking a bit. I know I'm really pushing hard on the bike, though, so that isn't helping. I think I can get into the 22s on a flatter course.

Walked it off before getting my chip cut off and high fived the lady who was chasing me down. Grabbed some food - banana, slices of pizza, donut, powerade, apple, and water. Packed up my gear and walked it back to the truck before the awards ceremony. Took some pictures with my #1 cheerleader, and headed to get lunch afterwards.


Swim speed and run speed. And maybe aero goodies on the bike!


This was a good race. I enjoyed the length, the difficulty, and the facility. The roads we biked on could use a repave, but other than that it was another well run event by Setup!