Big Green Triathlon - TriathlonOther

This included wetsuit stripping before transition zone as T was 700 yards away up a gravel hill.
Feet, toes, and calves cramped up IMMEDIATELY at the gun. Actually tried taking a couple of steps when still near shore to try and stretch them out. Spent much of the swim trying to counter curl my feet and toes while muscling through with arms. Occassionally had to stop, tread, and try to loosen my calves. Just pretty much a disaster. Had a forewarning when I got a twinge of a cramp when putting suit on. All of that said, I thought seriously about about pulling out when I was out there with the pain in the legs, but am proud I balled up to get it done.

Pick a race without a 700 yard offroad run to transition, train appropriately, and figure out this cramping thing.

This includes the long run up the hill to transition area. Really makes the race unfun. I also spent time trying to stretch out calves. Was going to head out with shoes on bike, but decided not to. No reason to increase degree of difficulty when I was having a hell of a time already.

Again, thought about bagging it about 3 miles out with the calve pain but just tried to tough it out. Not a good ride, tried to settle into some steady climbs where I could to relax and try to chill out. Not as bad with the tightness, but most definitely still present.

Tried not to burn too much time here, but was trying to get streched out again. Was going to come in barefoot, but again decided to stick with the "not the time to experiment" idea. Forgot to take my helmet off, ended up dropping it 50 yards into run course.

Not much given the circumstances

By this point I had pretty much nothing left. Calves were still cramped up. I walked much of the course, especially the numerous short steep up hill climbs and and down hill descents. Baked out in the field area. Tried stretching along the course where I could.

Tried to continue to stretch out lower legs.


Lack of training given the chest cold and move that completely took me off the board for 4 weeks. The immediate cramps shot the entire race for me.


Definitely a first time tri, but a good effort. Part of my negativity is certainly based on my results, injuries, and lack of training, but that said.
Why was this race at 1:30 in the afternoon at peak sun? This absolutely should have been a morning start to get out of the heat.
Why were the water aid stations spaced so closely together?
A 500-700 yard uphill gravel run from pond to transition area.
First half of road race felt unsafe given road conditions.
Beach and camping area full of Darmouth almuni weekend.
I did love the old school pony pumped IPA at the end though, and that made it all worth it.