Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Good swim, but I should really have seeded myself higher. I know I gave up time waiting to pass, but I'm not sure how much. I'm also sure I gained time with sprinting to pass people... I have no idea what the net was. I estimated my swim time at 7:00 and finished in 6:22, so I was the d-bag in this case, although some of the people I passed started more than a minute and a half ahead of me. It was chaos towards the end as everyone got bunched up.

ETA: below 2:00/100yards in a race! Hell yea - didn't realize that. Check one goal off the list!

Seed myself better and swim a little harder for the last 100yds instead of getting stuck in traffic.

My time was 1-2-3. That's cool. no wetsuit made things easier, although I'll be quicker still when I don't have to put on a t-shirt. Tri-top investment coming soon.

Leave shoes on bike. I can do the quick mount in practice, but without anything to stabilize them they pop off. I need some rubber bands.

I failed one goal to get my HR under control at the start of the bike. I had it pegged around 170 for most of the ride, although I did manage to relax towards the end. I only got passed once on the bike (and that dude was on a fancy tri-bike). I kept my cadence between 80 and 90 and allowed myself up to 95 for downshifts on hills. The big ring and the wide rear cassette make for some big jumps between gears, but most of my training rides and the rest of my tri's are on hilly courses, so I'm not changing it this year.

Drank one full bottle of water and never got to start on the second. Was aiming for 1 and a half.

Learn to soft-pedal better. It seems like I'm always pressing hard during a race and the Oly and HIM are going to require more of this. Also drink more.

Stretchy laces here I come.

This was my weakest performance ranking-wise and I was it with the side stitch again, although not nearly as badly as in the past. I think it's just a cramp and needs to be dealt with the same way. I had the beginnings of a cramp in my calves, but it went away after the first half a mile. The stitch was on and off all throughout. I drank some water at the mid-way point from an aid station and that seemed to alleviate it some, although I walked to get the water down, so that may have helped too. My pace was VERY consistent - 4:30-4:38 every half mile until the last two, were I hit 4:15 and 4:someting else. Enjoyed the negative split and I kept my HR in the lower 170s for most of it. I'd prefer to get it into the high 170s for the first half and the low 180s for the last mile or two but I was limited by the stitch.

Best tri run performance to date in terms of how it felt, just need to figure out how to be better hydrated at that point on the run.

Got a water and a cold towel at the finish. YES PLEASE! Wandered around, used the bathroom and left pretty quickly - I had another commitment to get to!


Training and a side stitch. Time in the sport too, but I'm not pulling the rookie card.


Very well organized, ran on time. I knew what was going on at all times and they had everything we needed for a safe and fun day. If I need another mid-summer tune up next year, I'll definitely be back!