SPRING Hawk Island Triathlon - Sprint Course - Triathlon

The only reason I started this whole race is because the water was at least 20 degrees warmer than the air. We were huddling in the water like it was a hot tub. Started as a run across the timing mat on shore, though this event has an option that you can choose to do an individual start after the AG waves, but I wanted to try to be competitive and ain't nobody got time to wait 20+ more minutes in the wind and rain. Anyway, I was very happy with this swim compared to my (only one) other tri and even practice open swims. I immediately lost track of the other girls in my AG but was pretty sure I passed them all by the first buoy. Kept passing dudes from the AG who started ahead of us, woohoo. Had no problems sighting and mostly went in a straight line. Still unsure how much I like the fit of my wetsuit but was glad to have it, and it really does make a difference in the race! Remembered coaches yelling "swim till you touch!" and swam in until I was almost pushing myself forward in the mushy sand, swam past one guy trying to run in waist-deep water. Ran up a sidewalk and tiny hill into TI. IT WAS SO COLD OUT OF THE WATER.

Not race in 45 windy rain. Train more and swim faster, keep track of the other AG girls.

I previously told DH and sister there to spectate/Sherpa not to be surprised if I quit after the swim, because I was so cold and miserable before the start I was just dreading the whole thing. Thankfully I love swimming and the adrenaline carried me through T1 onto the bike, and I obviously didn't quit. Had enough brainpower to determine that some extra time was worth it to put on a long sleeve shirt and my waterproof jacket. Neither were for cycling purposes or very aero, but I was glad to have them. Saw the 1st girl in the swim for our AG biking through transition, wearing only a sports bra and shorts. In 45 degree rain. I ran through T with my bike, I don't do flying mount so I clickity clicked in my cycling shoes, stopped and mounted, and passed her once and for all.

Find a waterproof jacket for cycling. Probably should have put my cycling gloves on.

No females passed me. I passed a couple of guys, and was passed by several 30s-40s men (the AG waves after me) on tri bikes. The other girls in my AG and I must have been staggered just enough in the swim and transition to not run into each other on the course. I am surprised at my speed (really good for me in these conditions), and I know it would have been better in better conditions, because I was slowing down on a lot of corners, checking back to make sure I had room to turn wide, etc. I am glad I took these precautions because I know there were several people who wiped out and didn't finish.

Worn gloves.

Dismounted with shoes still on my feet. I can get my feet out and ride in with my feet on my shoes, but with how wet it was I didn't want to risk my balance, or run through more puddles. Guess it didn't matter because there were was puddle at the run out end of T2. I have had some problems with my toes getting pinched/numb, and my feet and hands were so numb that I took a minute to stretch my toes and shake out my hands and feet before putting on my shoes.

Nothing I could have done better in these conditions.

I couldn't feel my feet at all for the first two miles. I may as well have been running on blocks of wood. Either this made me overlook the typical clunky post-bike legs, or my entire body was so numb I couldn't feel it, or maybe I am just trained enough that it didn't bother me, but I didn't feel any typical post-bike fatigue in my legs. As bloodflow returned to my feet throughout the run, I had to walk two or three times, just for a couple of steps to shake out my toes and ease the painful pinching. Other than that, didn't need to walk at all, which was a huge improvement from our last race simulation. I had also PRed in the 10k eight days prior, so I know mentally and physically I could bust out a race 5k with no problems.

Keep fiddling with my bike fit to lessen the pinched toes off the bike. Get lock-laces or tri shoes. Don't race in a semi-freezing monsoon.

I think a more appropriate title for this section would be "warm-up description." By the time I crossed the finish line I was no longer numb and could feel all my digits, thank God, but after the initial drive-heave shock wore off of course I resumed freezing. I sacrified some layers and my blanket to a teammate who had been dropped off after a crash who was visibly shaking. Dried off under the hand dryer in the bathroom, changed clothes, grabbed some of the race-offered food, which wasn't helpful because the burritos were cold (but still tasty) and the bagels were cold, wet, and hard.


The weather. Oh my goodness, the weather. I'm pretty experienced running in all sorts of weather, and this is only my second tri, but even the experienced athletes were saying it was the worst weather they have seen for a race. I know you can only race with what you get on race day, though. A few gear changes and getting more time in the saddle will make a difference.


I never knew there were so many options and drop down menus in this format. Just going to spew off a few thoughts instead. For me personally: Even though I was freezing and hated the race while it was happening, I kept telling myself 6 months of training with my team and running in the winter, I can do this. This isn't a USAT sanctioned event but you can self-seed into the "eilte" start if you think you can finish in the "elite wave" time (1 hour for men, 1:10 for women). I think I was 10th female overall, and with improved conditions I know I would be at least 3 minutes faster just because of transition times, so I am pretty pleased with my overall 1:21 and looking forward to continued improvement.

Race overall: There's no overall ranking in the results, so I counted the women's times that were faster than me, which is how I think I was 10th female. Also no total number, but 250-300 participants in the sprint, so I was maybe 10th out of 150ish women. I wish the start and check-in were better organized, I completely missed the tshirt table and can't even remember if I paid for a tshirt. They were announcing after the race that the awards were cancelled and we had to stand in a line to get our medals and prize if we placed (I chose a $25 online gift card, can always use more socks!), but that line took just as long if not longer than the awards ceremony.

Overall this is an easy course, maybe except the terrible conditions of the roads, and a good beginner race. It was especially fun as it seemed like it was mostly the main teams in our area, plus other people who somehow knew the teams anyway, so a lot of friendly competition. Pretty good start to the season.