Holualoa Firecracker Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Nice swim. They cool the pool during the summer. I neither passed nor was passed on the swim, so it was seeded very well.

The distance to transition is a little longer in the summer because of where people leave the pool for the serpentine. Almost put the helmet on backwards :/

There was some very welcome cloud cover during this stretch. I probably spent 2/3 of the ride in the aero bars, which is a huge improvement for me. I didn't use them on Euclid or on some downhill portions where I started going fast and got nervous. I feel like I slow way down to turn, but that's what I am comfortable with right now. I wanted to pass someone toward the end, but there was another rider in the mix, and I couldn't find a way to do it, which was frustrating. I didn't feel like I was riding hard, per se, but I was breathing heavily.

Learn to take turns faster. Keep riding and getting more comfortable on the bike, especially in the aero bars.

Not much to say.

I felt slow starting and ran by feel. Checking the splits after, I think I started out too fast, or maybe the heat got to me. I ran with a handheld bottle of cold water, and poured the course water on my body. It was nice and cold. There was some cloud cover during the run, and the heat didn't bother me as much as last year. I started feeling really bad after mile 2 and pushed through to the end, but might have been able to push a little harder.

Play with the Garmin multisport settings and get different data fields to show up during the run. I don't practice a lot of bricks, so I don't have a good sense of what my post bike run pace should be and feel like. Suck it up... I discovered a little blister when I was done. I should put something on my feet beforehand, at least for this summer race.

Walked for a bit. A big water slide was brought to the course, and I took advantage. I also enjoyed the cold watermelon :)


Confidence and skill handling the bike. Getting to bed earlier would probably help.


Another hot one, but not as bad as it could have been. My age group was really competitive today. My time this year would have gotten me first in my age group last year. All in all, I am happy (I was expecting a 1:17), but I know there is room to improve.