Silver Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My age group rank is a guess, as I saw one head in the water ahead of me at the exit. I'm unable to tell my age group rank or overall rank in the swim, although I wish I could get this information. The swim went very well. The start waves were small, which allowed for very little overcrowding at the start. Many participants in this novice group quickly resorted to breast stroke and back-floating, and as I waded into the water in the back 1/3 of the group, I was quickly frustrated and eager to pass. I passed well, taking a few kicks to the ribs but nothing painful. Once I was out in front (behind one other swimmer) I got in a great rhythm, but unfortunately this didn't happen until I rounded the first buoy.

I should have started nearer the front of the wave, as I was the fastest or second-fastest swimmer in the group, but there was no way for me to guess how I would compare to the others on my first race. Next race, when I'm in my age group, I will be much more of a "little fish in a big pond" and probably the middle or middle-back of the wave will be a good spot for me.

I did not wear cycling shoes, but just running shoes. I also did not use a wetsuit. I was a bit slow in T1 as I toweled off because the air was chilly, and put on a long-sleeve shirt. Socks and shoes went on fast, shoes were pre-tied to my desired tightness and could slip on. I buckled my race belt on. My transition spot was only 15 feet from the bike start, so I trotted it over and got on at a standstill, then off I went.

I would ditch the long-sleeve T-shirt and towel! The temperature had probably climbed to 60 by then, and with the race excitement and sunshine, I did NOT need either of these things. Nearly everyone else rode in only a tri suit and I could very comfortably have done so as well, even dripping wet.

Again, age group rank and overall rank for the bike split are unknown. I felt good about my performance, averaging 2 mph faster than on my training rides. I was passed by several men but only a couple of women. My pace seemed to decline a bit toward the end, likely because I gave it more effort than my training rides and started running out of gas. I did not drink on the bike, feeling well-hydrated from drinking plenty beforehand.

I would really like a new bike. :) I did the race on a 15-year-old Trek 1220 road bike that I bought used for training this year. It performed well, but being of this vintage, is still a pretty heavy bike and has all its original components, and it's a noisy thing as well...which to my untrained ears makes it sound like I could go faster if all the gears were tuned smoother. I had it tuned before the race but maybe that's as good as a 15-year-old bike gets?? I also need to take the bike more seriously. My training included 2 weekly rides of 15 miles each. I will never improve with so little training; this training merely served to keep my bicycling muscles awake and give my heart a good workout.

The volunteers near transition were telling us all to slow down as we approached. I jumped off the bike at a slow-jog pace and trotted the short 15 feet to my rack spot, racked quickly, switched to a running cap, peeled off my long-sleeve shirt, spun my race belt around and took off.

Not much. T2 went well. If anything, I lingered at my rack spot for a few extra seconds because my legs were jelly and my feet were numb, and I shook them out a bit before running out of transition.

The run felt stiff and strange at first, as is to be expected. After a mile I loosened up and felt much more at-home. I felt very slow, being passed by many and passing few. It inspired me to want to improve on my run with training.

On race day, nothing. In training, RUN MORE! I need to run more. I can get better than this, I just know it.

Nothing. I should have stretched. I was a bit stiff all afternoon!


I performed faster than I ever trained, and was very pleased about that. To perform faster next year, I need a lot more training volume. I did the minimum training volume to comfortably/easily complete the race, but if I want gains in all three disciplines, I have to put forth the effort. All in all, I was pleased with my first time out.


As this was my first race, I really have no point of reference to rate it or compare it to others. It seemed reasonably organized, but was also a very small race and had a small-town feel to it. It was a very pleasant and easy course, a wonderful race to do for your first one.