Iron Nugget Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Lined up to the inside front and planned to go out moderately hard just to get clear of any contact. Started the race well and soon found myself on my own with what appeared to be empty water to the front. Each time I sighted I looked for arms and caps ahead but none to be found. Am I really going to come out of the water 1st? That would be a "first" for me haha.

Rounded the first buoy (90 degree turn) and stole a peek back; there was a pack behind me by 20-30 yards but I didn't look directly behind. Decided to back off the pace a bit and go into cruise mode. Moderate effort, breath every stroke, sighting around every eighth.

Rounded the next buoy and headed down the long leg of the rectangle. Halfway down I passed the physically challenged swimmer (blind) and his guide that started in front of us... he was going really well!

The last 1/3 of the swim was pretty uneventful and it really looked like I was going to come into T1 with a good lead. Relaxed a little more as I neared the finish as I started thinking about the MONSTER hill I would have to run up to get into T1.

Came out of the water and the announcer called out my name in #1; pretty cool feeling.

Here is where a couple things started to go wrong...

I had my Garmin set up for multisport mode so I could push the button to start and end each transition. For some reason when I pushed the button after the swim it immediately went into bike mode. Got my wetsuit down around my waist running up the beach, then hit the HILL! Wow... don't know the grade or length but there's no way I could have ridden a bike up it. Did my best to slowly jog up without pegging my HR.

While I was trying to figure out what happened I forgot to put the dang thing on my wrist so lost about 10 seconds doing that after I got to my bike. Wetsuit came off without any major issues, helmet and glasses on and I was on my way.

Put on Garmin running to T1 rather than after I get to the bike. Not have an issue with multisport mode.

I guess since this was my first tri of the season it's good to get all my mistakes done early. As I came out of T1 I jumped on the bike just fine and tried to pedal up to speed, but the parking lot was so full of gravel and broken pavement that I struggled to get momentum. There's a climb starting immediately at the end of the parking lot and I only managed to get 1 foot into my shoes. Oh well guess i'll put my other foot in at the top.

Hit the seam (bump) between the old pavement and the new asphalt starting the climb, and launched my only water bottle off the bike. Not going without liquid so I stopped... nice volunteer got it before I could hobble over (thanks!!!) and I went ahead and put my other foot into the shoe.

Now... anyone ever started on a steep hill with clip-in pedals? Hahaha had to laugh at myself as I must have looked pretty foolish leading the race and struggling to get going on the bike.

After that fiasco I settled in for the ride and just tried to keep the effort level even and keep my eyes peeled for the course signs and where I needed to turn. I still hadn't seen another racer and it was getting sort of lonely.

I had no idea about my average pace since my Garmin "bike" started at the swim exit, but at least had a pretty good estimate of distance.

Even though I didn't drive the course ahead, the signs weren't too tough to spot. Took the hills at a medium effort and stood every now and then for some variety. Before too long I came back to the park entrance and knew I only had a couple more (hilly) miles to ride back to T2.

Blew past the first turn inside the park... oops. I realized my mistake pretty quickly and turned around, but probably lost 20-30 seconds. Called back to the volunteer sitting there asking if that was where I needed to go, and he seemed unsure. I went with it.

Cut the effort back in the last mile or so to get ready for the run. Took my feet out of the shoes waaaaaaay too early as I misremembered the end of the course.

Quite a bit.

Coasted in, swung my leg over and had a good dismount. Got into T2 well, racked the bike and put on my shoes/socks. Really hilly run coming up + first tri of the season didn't want to go sockless. Had a little trouble getting the little rocks off the soles of my feet but no biggie.

Grabbed visor and race belt and out I went. Oops, missed the 180 degree turn out of transition onto the run course haha.

One cool thing about this course is you get a great look at your competition. The run and bike courses share the same road, so as I started up the first hill I saw 2nd OA come in on the bike. Felt pretty good at that point that unless he was a smoking fast 5k runner I could hold him off.

Up hill down hill etc. Went through the turnaround and ran a little over .25 mile before 2nd OA went past. I figured if he was running 6m/m I had about 3 minutes on him.

Managed my pace on the hills and took advantage of the downhills. I did have my Garmin for run pace since I waited until coming out of T2 before I hit the lap button.

Rolled down the final hill into the transition / finish parking lot and kicked it in. Lots of spectators lined up on the side and it felt great to hear them cheer me on!

Finished and started walking back up the run course and cheered for the next finishers as well as the people finishing the bike and going out for the run.

The run went pretty well.

Jogged an easy 2 miles with some new found buddies.


Nothing really limited my ability, but I definitely made some mistakes. From the Garmin issues to missed turns to lost equipment I probably could have improved my finish time. What's strange is I tested my Garmin with auto multisport again after the race and it worked fine... strange.

Ironically, the race timing crashed as well so the splits aren't accurate... it shows me with 2.5 minutes T1 but due to the length and steepness of the hill I think it was longer. Somehow I spent zero time in T2, I was about 40 seconds faster on the run than my garmin, and who knows about the bike. The total race time is accurate though.


So stoked to get my first 1st overall finish!!! I know it's a small local race but still felt great! Fun and challenging course. Very low key atmosphere. A little rough around the edges.

Great awards; I got a plaque for 1st OA plus a mug and ceramic spoon with the race logo, plus a 32 serving tub of HEED. AG podiums got a mug and certificate with finishing place.

Lots of swag (compared to number of participants) handed out at the awards ceremony; I came away with a certificate for one free Rudy Project item of my choice: sunglass, helmet, cycling gear, or bag.