Lake Murray Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Decent swim. I was trying to stay active waiting for the wave horn to keep from shivering. Water was cold but not as cold as my training swims the week prior so I was ready. I started out good, relaxed, but at a faster pace than I should have. I did great with sighting and kept an inside line straight for the buoy. I could have gone wide so I could round the turn instead of having to almost stop to turn. I started to tire out and had to breast stroke some to catch my breath.

Swim more in training to build fitness. Try to start slower to regulate my pace for a strong finish. Run to T1 instead of walking.

I was able to get my wetsuit off and helmet on quickly. It was cold and wet so I wasted some time trying to get on a cold gear shirt and socks. My shoes were dry which was nice but that only lasted a couple miles. Lots of time wasted so I chose not to put on my knee brace.

Don't put on helmet before trying to put on a shirt. With similar conditions - wear a cycling jacket with a zipper. Don't worry about socks or dry shoes in a rainy event. Put on knee brace.

I was plenty warm thanks to the shirt and gloves but the rain started about half way through the bike which made things difficult. The gusty winds were a bear. Winds were steady 15mph with gusts over 25. I tend to sit up pretty high on my bike and being a bigger guy headwinds wreak havoc on me. I'm weak on the hills. Maybe the winds or the wet roads but I never got comfortable taking my hand off the bar to get my water bottle. As a result I only drank twice, about a 1/3 of what I expected to drink. I didn't put on my knee brace under the wetsuit or in T1 which I should have. It started hurting about mile 8 which slowed me down also.

I probably should start out a bit slower and pace myself better as I felt like I started strong but couldn't hold it. Not worry about socks or dry shoes. Put my helmet on AFTER I put on my shirt. Wear knee brace.

I went for comfort being this my first tri. I had my shoes, race belt and another pair of socks in a trash bag so I fumbled around with that. It was nice to have dry socks and shoes though. Also took off the long sleeve shirt which was a mistake. I could have saved a minute if I weren't as concerned with comfort.

Push through and not worry about comfort as much. Put on knee brace.

Started out too fast even though it felt right. Didn't drink enough on the bike so I got a stitch that slowed me down. Stitch went away after 2 cups of water. I had trouble settling into my run rhythm but it came to me by mile 2. Right about the time my knee started hurting. I walked through the water stations. Even with the stitch and walking and bum knee I finished with a decent average pace for me.

Start slower. Drink more on bike. Wear knee brace. Don't walk through water stations.

Talked to friends, dried off, put on warm dry clothes. Ate a couple slices of pizza and drank the gatorade I should have had on the bike/run.


Weather, inexperience, choosing comfort over time, not wearing my knee brace like I knew I should have.


As this was my first tri I don't have much to compare to but from what I've seen and heard from other sprints and compared to a local 5k with the same participation it is what I expected.