Columbia Triathlon - Triathlon

Felt MUCH better about the swim this time around. I didn't have trouble getting used to the water temperature, and was able to go longer in freestyle than I was last time. My freestyle is much faster than my breaststroke, so when I get so I can do that the entire time, I should have good times. I liked the deep water start better than the dash in from the shore we had in Charlottesville.

Maybe try freestyle even more, but maybe not. I'm pretty happy with the swim.

Slow. Weather was bad, so had to put lots of additional clothes on.

The bike course was very hilly and very wet, but I felt it went pretty well. I would've been more comfortable on dry roads, but I found myself having to slow down to avoid sliding only a few times. My computer blinked out at the start, so I didn't have an idea of pacing or time, but the distance was short enough that it didn't matter much. Also, I knew the course a little bit, having ridden it last week for practice. Even if I'm not that fast, I felt most comfortable on the bike, so I was the least worried about how to manage this part.

Figure out how to turn the computer on. Also, when it is raining, wear a shell instead of just a long-sleeve jersey. The jersey got soaked, and I got a little bit cold.

Pretty uneventful. Shucked off the wet jersey, helmet, bike shoes, put on the running shoes, and headed out.

Felt much better than last time. Didn't have much of a hangover from the bike like I did last time, and that made a huge difference. Hills were much more difficult than in Charlottesville, no doubt, but I was in so much better running shape this time that I think I was faster anyway. I had enough juice left at the end that I could re-pass a sassy chick who tried to scoot ahead of me just before the finish. Oh HELL no!

Nothing.

Caught my breath, got some water, got a bite to eat, had one of the massages they provided (awesome), packed up, and went home.


I still have plenty of things I need to work on (consistent freestyle during the OWS, speedwork on the bike, cadence on the run), but I'm really pleased overall with this effort, particularly as it was my second tri ever.


TriColumbia did an excellent job organizing. Everything went very smoothly, and it was clear these folks know what they were doing, despite the wretched weather. As for constructive criticism, I'd suggest that the transition area remain open until closer to the actual beginning of the race. As it was, I had to wait an hour between the closing of the transition area pre-race and the beginning of the actual event, and heard of others in later waves who waited almost two hours. In my case, I had to go to the bathroom again. Since I had already put on my wetsuit, this was inconvenient. If I had it to do over again, I would've waited to put on the wetsuit outside of transition after bathroom necessities were complete. Finally, it would be nice to be able to get in the water and warm up a little bit before the race begins. These are really minor points, though.

As for my performance, I'm really happy with that also. Two weeks ago in Charlottesville my time was better by four minutes, but adding the course difficulty into the equation, my overall performance this time was much stronger. I was better able to manage the open water swim without any of the difficulties getting into a breathing rhythm that I had last time. I was able to navigate the difficult conditions and numerous hills on the bike without difficulty or incident, I didn't have the hangover from the bike that I had last time, and I ran much better, despite the more difficult run course. I was somewhat frustrated after my performance last time; this time I'm extremely pleased.