My First Triathlon at Lake Lanier Islands - TriathlonSprint

Felt more like a boxing match than a swim, arms and feet everywhere. Going under the bridge was a bottleneck in the course. Made the pack of arms and legs much closer together. After the bridge it spread out a little bit and calmed down some. The time includes the 1/4 mile dash from the swim exit to T1.

I was surprised by the pummeling factor of the swim and had a hard time getting into my usual swim form, which also led to being more tired at the end. I will better anticipate this for future races and try to pick a better line through the course.

T1 went ok, had my swim cap, goggles and ear plugs out on the walk from the swim exit. Took a minute to get the sand off of my feet. Intentionally took a little time to just catch my breath after the swim and steep hill into transition.

I was pretty happy with T1. It could be faster, but for my first time I was happy with it. I think that improving my swim will leave me less tired and I won't have to take a breath. The other time sink was just getting the sand off of my feet, so a better method for that would speed up T1.

This was 45 minutes to total fun. I mean dog with its head out the car window fun. Passed a lot of people on the bike. Felt very strong on all parts of the course. I had set a goal for myself of hitting a 16mph average over the course which I pretty much met. There were so many bikes on the road in big clusters that it was impossible to follow a no-drafting policy. I just tried to get around the clusters the best I could and at the very least tried not to hang on anyone's wheel.

Nothing much. Just want to continue building speed/endurance on the bike for future races to improve on the time.

Getting off of the bike was an interesting experience. My feet hit the ground and my legs about buckled. Took a minute to feel stable enough to walk across the timer mat and in to T2. Downed some liquid and ate a little bit. Started slowly on the jog out of T2.

I had practiced that transition a little bit, but I need more practice. The wobbly-legs factor was the biggest slowdown in T2.

Took the run part very slow for the first 1/4 mile or so until my legs felt like they had some strength in them again. Continued with run/walk intervals around the course. There was water at miles 1 and 2 which was helpful. I felt very slow, but looking at the results it still beat my previous 5k time by 2 minutes!

I had wanted to run the whole course, but my legs were tired after the bike. This is the most difficult segment for me, so I just need to develop better strength/endurance on the run to be able to push through on tired legs.

Walked around the finish area and met with some friends who came to cheer me on. Stretched by the car before leaving the park, and again after getting home.


Mostly weight. I had lost 40 lbs in the 5 months prior to the race (and still have a ways to go). Otherwise I just need to continue to improve in each of the events. Couch potato land is in the rear view mirror and this is too much fun to give up on.


Overall, it was a good event.