Culpeper Sprint - TriathlonSprint

Better time than I was expecting, this being my first timed OWS. I wasn't sure how my pool times would compare. I used the swim as my warm-up, really.

I can't say that I necessarily "sprinted" the swim, but I think I was keeping a decent race pace.

Learn how to swim in a straight line in open water. I tended to zig zag a little between sightings.

Had the fastest T1 in my age group. It went smoothly, and I just focused on getting everything done rather than speed, really. It would be better to have a slow time than to forget something. Put on bike jersey, socks, bike shoes, helmet, sunglasses, then grabbed bike and ran out of transition.

It took me a little while to get my HR down and my breathing under control after getting on the bike, so knowing that I still had 18 miles and 5k to do, I used the first part (mostly downhill, luckily) to get my legs moving and my HR under control. I liked the bike course, even if there were some pretty painful hills. Definitely glad that I drove the course the day before so I knew where the hills, sharp turns, etc were.

Drink more Cytomax in the second half of the bike. I drank plenty of water and Cytomax in the first part, almost too much. But by the time I finished the bike, I was probably a little bit dehydrated.

This transition could have been faster. I ran in with my bike, but the other bikes on my rack were pretty close together, so I had to move one to the side. Helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes on. Needed water, so I grabbed a sip, which costed me time. Race belt on as I ran out of transition.

Rack my bike with the handlebars over the rack? It took too long to turn it around and maneuver it between the other (rather close) bikes. Don't drink water in transition, do it on the bike while you're moving.

My calves cramped up really badly for the first mile or so of the run, so I walked a few minutes here and there to try to stretch them out. Seemed to get better as I went, or maybe when I got a sip of water at the aid stations. They were still tight, but not as bad.

Overall not too bad, and again my time was a little better than I expected.

Train harder for the run in the future, stretch out calves before race, so I don't have to walk as much.

Walked around, stretched out, drank water.


Not enough fluids before the run, cramping calves. Didn't spend enough training time on running.

Could have put in more training time in the past few weeks.


I can't give it a 5 because I have nothing to compare it to, but it was definitely a positive experience, a well-organized program, and definitely not my last tri!