Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Olympic - TriathlonOlympic

It was absolutely horrible. The one thing I kept telling myself pre-race was to just keep calm in the swim...if I keep calm, I'll be fine. I got into the water and swam around a little bit before the wave started, and I noticed that my wetsuit was tight around the chest and shoulders. I lined up to the far right of the wave, thinking that would give me plenty of room to spread out. So, the gun went off and the mass chaos erupted. I started my freestyle, but quickly started to feel the tightness of my wetsuit and had problems breathing. In retrospect, this was a pacing issue and I should have just slowed down. But...I flipped out and started backstroking, which I continued for the majority of the swim. I unzipped the back of my wetsuit to get some relief from the choking sensation, and it helped a little (it was probably all mental). I probably swam a couple hundred yards off course because my sighting was horrific. I kept focused on just getting out of the water and getting the *&%^$ wetsuit off and onto the bike, so I made it out eventually.

Ummm...practice OWS? Seriously, I need to focus on this the next month. I honestly didn't think I would freak like I did and that I would actually enjoy the experience. Yes…I’m a moron…this was my first OWS. I’m now the official poster child for “NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY”.

I apparently had no concept of time in T1. It was a really long transition zone, and I was freaked out that I was forgetting something. Next time will be much, much better.

Stress less about forgetting anything and just get on the bike and go!

I love riding the bike! Because I was so far behind in my swim wave, I was in the midst of the men 30-34 wave...aka, testosterone zone. I kept focused on keeping my cadence smooth and tried to not draft as best I could with the crowds. It was a really crowded course, particularly on the second loop. I'm pretty sure I passed more people that I got passed by (particularly on the hills), so that helped string my confidence up after the disastrous swim. I took in some water and a package of Clif Shots during the bike, which turned out to be about right. At the end of the first lap, I passed Craig Alexander on about mile 3.5 of his run. Holy hottie...and he was smiling! (probably because he was running his way to an easy payday)

I would shift to the big ring ;). It's time to enter the Big Girl's Club! My bike is still being broken in, so the cables get stuck a lot, but I'm going to work on breaking it in so that they don't get stuck so I can ride like a grown-up.

Got in and ran to my area, kicked off my bike shoes and put the runner's on. Tied the shoes, put the visor and race belt on, and off I went.

I want to try a pair of elastic laces, or whatever they are. I'm pretty sure I lost about 30 seconds tieing my shoes.

I felt really, really good on the run. I'm shocked that my average pace was that low. My goal was to average 8:30's, but I started off around 8:05's, put the brakes on and kept them on. Around mile 2.5 I had shaken the bike off my legs and was into a groove. I kept telling myself that it's only six miles and it'll be over in a flash, which seemed to work. I had some unexpected speed in the last mile, which was refreshing...I'm not used to that in half and full marathons!

I probably should have drank more on the bike because I was thirsty on the run, but other than that, I had a really enjoyable run that I thought was appropriate for my goals and fitness level.

Walked around, picked up my transition stuff and hung out and waited for TC to finish. I met up with him and his crew after his race, which he totally rocked :). It was so nice to see a "familiar" face and hear how his race went. They all did an awesome job!


OWS freakout and being on the small chain ring on the bike. It was my first tri...now I know! Rookie mistakes, and I should have/did know better. I'm committed to doing an OWS at least once every two weeks and moving up to the big chain ring on the bike.


I let my mental preparedness slip in this one, which I'm kicking myself for now. I should have just calmed down in the swim and taken my time, realizing that the world will not come to an end if I take a little longer than I originally thought. And...I will never do anything new on race day EVER AGAIN. Overall, it was a great experience and I CAN'T WAIT to do another one!