Reston Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

My plan was so start slow and build some speed in the back half. Unfortunately, I ran into the usual pool swim logjam. My first 100 was clear water, and I passed someone. Then I got boxed in and had to hold my pace for another 100 meters. At the wall one of the guys wouldn't let me pass, so I had to try to push past. Sadly, the three of us were all so close in place that we just couldn't break free of each other. During all of this my stroke strayed nice and relaxed, my breathing was under control, and it never felt like a big deal. I even got to do a fair bit of sighting to make sure I didn't smack into anyone! Hoisting myself out of the pool wasn't the prettiest, but I felt fine coming out of the water and heading into T1.

Nothing. While I could have put on a strong kick and left those guys in the dust, I think that would have come back to haunt me later in the race. It was nice to have a good pace and feel relaxed in the water.

I felt good coming out of the water, but definitely a bit ruffled trying to sort things out for the bike. I didn't forget anything! Getting my bike off the rack actually hurt my lower back a bit. :(

Press start on my watch. Yeah, I did a "pause" thing instead of switching to bike mode, and as a result wound up with pretty much no splits.

The mount line is immediately followed by a small climb, and for a second there I thought I was going to eat it two feet into the bike. But I didn't, and I headed out for the three loop course. The first straight away is all big ring and excellent for getting up to speed. There's a more than 90 degree turn, and then we're into some rollers. There was nothing super tough, but to keep my cadence I did find myself shifting into the granny gear. One more turn, and then we've got a nice downhill followed by "the hill." This hill was getting everyone hot and bothered, being mentioned in the pre race briefing and race reports. I was nervous. And while it got me out of breath and had me working, I never once thought it was too hard. In fact, it felt pretty similar to the hills I climb to get to the trail I train on. It was nice on the second and third loops to know what I was doing. Overall I passed a few people, most notably someone on a very nice looking bike with clipless pedals one the hill. But mostly I got passed like I was standing still. I know where I need to put the work in, but I also feel confident that I can get stronger on the bike. Brought it into T2.

I wish I could have been able to drink on the bike, but with my higher speed and the wet roads, I didn't feel comfortable even giving it a try. I didn't feel like I pushed to hard, but I felt pretty drained for the run, so I'm not sure if I maybe did?

Considering I don't wear bike shoes, I was actually disappointed with this transition. I should have been able to run better since I was in my running shoes already. My bike rack space was all the way at the end, so I did have to run a long way, but sheesh.
The humidity and overcast conditions made me decide to ditch the sunglasses. I grabbed my cap and race belt and headed out. I snagged a water heading out of T2 and had a mouthful.

Hustle more!

My bricks had let me know that by the time I got to mile 1, but legs would be waking up. Except, that didn't really happen. I never got rid of my jelly legs, and the humidity was making me gasp. There were some hills that I found pretty challenging, but I do wonder if I would have felt that way if I was fresh. Still, the prettiness of this course couldn't be beat. If I lived in Reston I would run on these paths nonstop!
My shoes were a squishy mess. Like, sloshy, feet moving, Rocktape peeling off, disgusting squishy mess. I had been hoping I'd be able to kick it into gear for the last bit, but it never came together. I never walked, and kept putting one foot in front of the other, but even when I turned the final corner, I couldn't muster up any kind of sprint finish. Even still, I was feeling strong and smiling big!

I'm not sure. Maybe bike a little easier? I don't know why the run felt so hard. I train on hills here at home, so I'm not sure why they felt so hard today. It must have been the humidity.

I crossed the finish line and some cute kids handed me water, my medal, and took my chip. As soon as I finished I started to feel tingly. I was breathing very heavy and all I wanted to do was drink a bunch of water and sit down. And sit down I did! Also, rather disgustingly, as soon as I sat down I peed myself, right onto the grass. Ewww.
I managed to feel a bit better after I got some water in me, drank some chocolate milk, and kept walking around until I felt better. Then off to do the parking lot changing dance and out to breakfast with my family.


Bike handling, aerobic base and weather. I wish I had more confidence on the bike, so I could have taken the corners a bit better. My heart rate felt quite high when running, so I do need to make an effort to do some heart rate training next season. And I wish DC summer had arrived earlier so I could have acclimated to it better.
As it stands, I'm quite happy with my performance.


I loved this race! The RD was so communicative with regard to the sketchy weather. We had some race day magic, though, and managed to only have wet roads and no rain. There were so many volunteers, and I never wondered where I should go. It was supportive and wonderful for new athletes. I just wish the post race food selection had been better. Bagels and pizza, that's fine. But no bananas?