TRI Peachtree City Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was my first Time Trial start and I LOVED it! So nice to be able to set my own pace from the get go and not get clobbered. Also, taking the usual massive sprint for the first 150 yards out of the picture helped me settle in to a better stroke right out of the gate. Now, if I'd only trained for the race, I'd have been set! If you read my race report from Blue Ridge a month ago, I hadn't really trained for that -- only in the pool twice prior to that race. The last time I was in the water was THAT RACE! Needless to say, this swim was based on swim technique alone and had little to do with fitness level.

I still don't think my time is well spent swimming for training. I realize I need to do SOME swimming, and it would certainly help me keep my heart rate down and I'd have to do a lot less breaststroke (which might help save my legs a bit more). Problem is I'll only shave a minute or two off my race. My focus still needs to be on losing weight and the run/bike legs (which I haven't been doing either).

This was by far the biggest transition area I have ever dealt with (it's only my fourth race). I was racked pretty close to the swim exit, which made finding my bike pretty easy. The downside was that it meant a LONG run with my bike. I have not attempted starting with my shoes attached to the pedals, so I had to run a long way in my cycling shoes through the dirt and grass and then on the pavement. I also went a little slow by choice to try to get my heartrate down a bit after the swim.

General fitness level would help, but learning how to do a flying mount and then put feet in shoes would be nice, but I have much bigger fish to fry before I worry about those details.

Unfortunately there is a common theme in my race reports, and that is that I don't train enough. That's an understatement really, because I am just flat out lazy and it frustrates me about myself. I struggled with the bike at Blue Ridge and told myself I was going to work harder on it. I put my bike in the basement after that race and it came out last night to go in the truck this morning for the race. I literally did not ride 1 single time since my last race. This course is potentially very fast (as the top times reflect). There were some mild rolling hills, but nothing big that should cause a problem if someone has been riding regularly. The support was awesome along the way and really did a nice job directing traffic. Now, my own stupidity on the bike really hurt me. In the first couple miles, I saw a lot of the front riders coming back the other way, so I assumed it was an out-and-back course. Well, mile 7 passed by, mile 8, mile 9, MILE 10! Where the HECK is the turnaround?!?!? I thought they really mis-judged the ride distance or something. I had told myself I was going to really ride hard the second since I knew I'd have to walk most of the run anyway. Next thing I know, we're riding into T2! UGH. It was a loop! There was no turnaround. IDIOT!

Drive the course first to know where I am going ahead of time so I can plan accordingly. Oh, and probably a good idea to ride my bike once in a while. I think that might help a bit.

That same long run in my bike shoes to get out of T1 proved to be just as long coming back in to T2. Not much I could do about it, but had I taken off my shoes and run barefoot, I probably could have run a little bit faster -- don't think it would have saved me too much time though. I took a few seconds to stretch my legs out a bit once I got my running shoes on too, so that added about 20 seconds.

Need to learn how to/practice getting my feet out of my shoes coming in to T2 so that I can do a flying dismount and run barefoot to T2.

As always, this is my biggest nemesis. I really told myself that I would focus on my running after the last race, and I started out doing so, but then dropped off quickly. I still can't run more than a half mile straight without having to walk, and even a half mile is rough. I think it's a combination of fitness level and mental block. Because I don't have the confidence that I can run the 5k, I walk more than I think I need to.

Get my fat @ss out running more often! And, I still need to drop about 60 pounds.

Didn't really warm down -- just ate some bananas and oranges and drank some water. My one wish was that they had a massage station after the race, but they didn't, so I left pretty shortly after I finished the race.


Lack of training, fitness level, additional weight. You know, minor stuff! =)


Overall, a great race. Well put together with tons of volunteer support. I can see how this race would be good for people of all abilities. Nice course and lots of support staff.