Culpeper International Triathlon - Triathlon

The race started a bit late to let the fog burn off.

So...I actually had a really good swim. Probably the best I have felt about a swim...ever. I managed to latch onto another swimmer who was a bit faster and drafted her for 3/4 of the race. First time I have ever done that. In addition, I managed to swim freestyle pretty much the whole time. I switched to breastroke just a few times so that I wouldn't overtake the woman who I was drafting off of. I am sure I could not have kept the pace on my own.

Very sunny at one point and I really couldn't tell where I was going due to fogged up goggles. Just kept the swimming ahead of me in sight.

I exited out of the water ahead of the woman I drafted off of. Of course, she had to point me in the right direction of my bike as I ran past it in transition.

I've got to figure out how to make sure my goggles don't fog up.

Nothing.

I found this bike course very challenging. There seemed to be a hill after every turn so all momentum was lost just before the hill. There were quite a few sharp turns. My goal was not to push too hard so that I didn't fall apart on the run.

Felt strong on the hills. Not as strong on the flats.

The woman I drafted off of passed me early on in the bike segment. I never saw her again until the run. I'd like to be as good a rider someday.


Maybe drink a bit more. But I really need to practice drinking & biking. I am just not very comfortable on reaching for and drinking from the water bottle. I decided not to use my Torhans setup because I just don't like it. Maybe I need to just but an aero cage setup on my bike.

I liked this course. There were several spots where you could see people ahead of you and behind you. Doing two loops was nice too. You knew what to expect for the last half of the course. I actually felt I got stronger as the race progressed. I ran just about as hard as I could.

As the race progressed, I figured I either did really well or that I never saw any of the women in my age group -- that they were way ahead on the swim and far ahead on the bike by the time I got on the course.

Turns out I did really well!

I really enjoyed this race. I felt I gave a really, really good effort and that I couldn't have done much differently. A first for me! I actually felt great after the race...even before I found out my results.

Very nice venue. Very challenging bike course. I will consider this race again.