Tri Fall Creek Falls Triathlon - Triathlon

This was my first Olympic so I wasn't sure how to pace it. The first 400 didn't feel great (should have warmed up more than I did) but I got into a decent rhythm after that. There was a little banging around at the start and at a couple of buoys but nothing too bad. The sun peeked out on the last 200 and it was difficult to sight the finish but I made it in without a lot of zigging.

I wished I had warmed up more and pressed the pace a bit. I need to swim some longer sets to see how I react. I've done a few 1.5 mile ows but I need to up the intensity.

There's about a 250 yd up hill run from the swim exit to the bikes. I brought an extra pair of shoes down to the water to use for the run...probably cost me a few seconds but saved my feet.

Nothing other than maybe go sockless for the bike and run...would have saved a few secs in T1. T1 time was 6th out of 15.

When I scouted the course I didn't think I would be able to ride it this well. I was pleasantly surprised with this split.

Get a tri bike with race wheels. I did the race on my 10 year old Giant OCR without aero bars. I did get a bike fit about 10 days before the race and I think that helped in my performance quite a bit.

Had a little GI issue here...needed a rest room break...cost me a couple of minutes.

Work on the pre-race nutrition.

I had a calf injury at the end of May and my run volume hasn't been great...it showed. The 1st mile went ok because it was flat to downhill. Miles 2-3 hurt a bit since there were some climbs involved. I walked the aide stations when I got something to drink. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by the time. This was just my 2nd 10k..my first was an open 10k last year and I ran it just under 59 minutes. I wanted to finish under 3 hours for my 1st Oly so I was pleasantly surprised to do so.

Get the run volume up. I think I'm capable (barring injury) of getting this down into the low to mid 50 minute range if I just ramp up my mileage.

It started raining a bit during the run and really started after I finished. I walked around a bit, chatted with some friends, got something to eat and looked for some shelter.


Swim...more volume and more experience with pacing the race distance.
Bike...no complaints given my limited experience (started cycling last fall)
Run...more volume with fewer nagging injuries that limit training.


I don't have a lot of experience but I liked the venue and I think the RD does a nice job on this relatively small local race. Everything went according to schedule. The goody bag included a nice tee shirt, a pair of socks and a drawstring bag.