Azalea Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Guy behind me caught me by the middle of 50 yds, only for me to pass him 100 yds later. That really threw my pace/rhythm/breathing off. I'm not a strong swimmer (especially on short swims), so my overall time was right at the time I was expecting.

More time training for a sprint specific event, especially with other swimmers in a pool to get used to swimming with others in front and behind you.

I didn't wear clips due to the race being a sprint. I put my socks/shoes right outside the pool area, prior to the 100m run to the T area. This worked out fine and I would do it again seeing as there are no mats on the sidewalks or parking lots.

I didn't rush to the T area, trying to get my heart rate down from the swim. Definitely cost me at least a minute, then I joked around with those in the corral, wasn't taking that Transition too seriously.

Ride was a faster pace than any of my training rides and still felt great getting off the bike.

I would have ridden the course prior to the event, I drove the course, but that didn't do much for me on race day. I had a plan for what avg pace I wanted to be at for specific mile markers, then I didn't stick to it or even really consider it.

I didn't wear my clips, so this was a really easy transition.

I forgot to start my wrist Garmin while on the bike, so as I started to leave the T area I stopped to let the watch try and get some reception. I finally gave up on it and left for the run. Over .25 miles later the watch started to work, big rookie mistake on that one.

Terrible run course. It's all on sidewalks, with some 90 degree turns. There are also those going out and those coming back, the sidewalk isn't big enough for more than 2 at 1 time. I lost a considerable amount of time on my run waiting to be able to pass people, on top of that the course was not very well marked and the majority of the volunteers pointing which way to go were looking the other direction. I enjoyed the run, but if I was someone who was very competitive at the sprint distance, that run course would be enough to not return to the event.

Start my Garmin while on the bike so I could actually pace myself.

Nothing, checked for results, kissed the wife and kids, packed up for the drive home.


My own mistakes. You can't blame anyone but yourself for your times, that's the beauty of the sport.


Great race to start the season. Maps for bike and run course were wrong, that was pretty frustrating during the race.