TBF Tri for Fun #1 - TriathlonSprint

I went out pretty hard because I never do that. I went a little too hard probably and felt slightly nauseous for probably the first half of the swim. I was hoping swimming harder (higher PE) would result in a faster swim split. Not so much.

There was this guy swimming next to me for most of the swim who was doing side stroke the whole time. Man, am I slow or what?

It was kind of nice not wearing a wetsuit. I usually feel like it takes extra effort to move my arms in one. But I didn't get the floatation/balancing help either. So maybe if I had swam harder AND worn my wetsuit, I might have seen an improvement.

My navigation was good as usual.

Swim lots, especially in open water.

I was a bit fatigued coming out of the water, but I kept jogging along into T1. Not having to get my wetsuit off saved a little time. Other than that, just the usual, including socks. I decided to take an extra 15 seconds to put on a headband because I planned to be sweating a lot on the bike.

Not much. Maybe move a little faster.

I pushed pretty hard on the bike. I passed lots and was only passed a couple times. There must have been a lot of fast swimmers because I passed people on hybrids all the way up to 1/4 mile to the T-area.

I put my aerobars back on recently and they helped to get out of the wind. The wind was coming in at an angle and was mostly a headwind on the way back, but not much of a tailwind on the way out.

Riding out on the highway is not a very safe route. There are bikes coming and going on this two-lane highway, so cars and even big trucks are going down the middle. One time I was about to pass someone who was passing someone else, which would have put me close to the yellow line, but a moving truck was coming the other way right down the middle of the highway. I decided to hold off on passing them for a few more seconds.

Going over the speed bumps wasn't as bad as I remembered.

I probably needed to drink a little more (I had 24oz of Cytomax). I drank more than I usually would have, but it was still less than I needed to overall, because I needed to be ahead by the time I started the run and I ended up somewhat dehydrated at the end.

I didn't even try the whole "getting out of your shoes while moving and jumping off a moving bike" thing. I was close to the bike entrance and run exit, so I didn't lose much time there.

After having speed laces all last season and recommending them to other people, I now think I like regular old laces better. In the off season when I was doing a lot of running, I found I just like the fit of the shoe better on my foot with regular laces. So this cost me some time in T2, but not enough to be concerned about. I had put my running shoes on to warm up, so when I took them off, I pulled out the laces a minimum amount so I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time lacing them up.

I know how to do the "getting out of your shoes while moving and jumping off a moving bike" thing. I could practice that more and use it. If nothing else, it's kinda fun. I usually lose my shoes, though.

The run went pretty good. I didn't have much of the "heavy leg" thing at the beginning. And I was pushing pretty hard but it was really hard to tell how fast I was going. They didn't have mile markers on the course, so I had no idea of my pace until the turnaround.

I got passed a few times on the run. That's pretty typical. Some of the people that I was ahead of surprised me because they were in much better shape than me.

Luckily since it was just a Sprint, we were done before it started getting very hot. I don't know if I would have wanted to be out there an hour or two later for a full hour like the people that ran the Oly on this course the next day.

I carried a 20oz water bottle with Cytomax with me out on the course. It was good not to stop at the aid station. I just grabbed a couple cups of water to dump on my head. I tried to drink some, but I think I only drank about 8oz.

Finished off my run drink as I hung out with some fellow BTers (joebowler, madkat, cadreamer) and friends. We then had a nice picnic, shared stories, and hung out. We took some cool group pictures too that hopefully get turned into a BT banner picture.


Not training enough or consistently enough. Focusing on distance instead of speed. Being overweight.


TBF puts on some decent races. They aren't my favorite, even though others rave about them. I like this swim venue, but the bike and run courses leave a little to be desired. I'd recommend it for first-timers or beginners because there's a really laid back atmosphere and lots of people who are just there to have a good time and attempt to finish.