Mini-Mussel Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was the leg that caused me the greatest anxiety. I was in the second wave. They had a novice group, which went out as the 4th wave, but I decided not to enter that group. We waded out to the small buoys and were off when the gun sounded. It was shallow for the first 20 or so yards, so I figured I'd walk as far as I could. When the water was about chest high, I started swimming. I think by doing this, I managed to avoid most of the "washing machine effect". Surprisingly I had no problems sighting whatsoever. We swam past one large buoy before coming to a second large buoy, which was the turnaround point. The water was really choppy, and we were swimming into the incoming current, which made this portion of the swim even more challenging. All I can say is thank goodness for wetsuits. When I reached the turnaround buoy, I was surprised to see that I was in the midst of a pack of swimmers. I had expected to be by myself by this time, at the tail end of the back of the pack. Luckily the incoming current was giving us a push as we swam back to shore. I really started to tire here but was determined to keep swimming. I could see some other swimmers floating on their backs, taking a breather. Directly in my path was one of the kayaks, where one of the other swimmers was hanging on, gasping for breath. I tapped the kayak on the side with my hand as I swam by, thinking "thanks, but no thanks - not necessary today". I was quite pleased when I reached the shallow end of the lake, and was able to wade in to the beach. I had kept my Timex watch on because I wanted to know my approximate swimming time. I was stunned to see that I was a little over 12 minutes as I began the long wade in. I was figuring the swim would take me 14-15 minutes. As I emerged from the lake and jogged to the transition area with my wetusit at my waist, I saw my wife, who snapped a picture. I was very tired from the swim, but elated that it was over.

Not a whole lot I could have done differently. I just need to get better at swimming, and master body position so I don't get so tired while swimming. Otherwise, I was very pleased with the swim.

I kind of lollygagged and dawdled during this transition. Part of it had to do with me trying to catch my breath after the swim. I also wasted time by slowly taking off my Timex and putting on my Garmin. I unracked my bike and started to race out before realizing I didn't have my biking gloves. I dashed back and picked them up off the ground before heading out. I saw my wife snap another picture as I was leaving the transition area.

Set my transition are up in a more orderly fashion and have more of a sense of urgency. I could have very easily have taken one minute off of this time. But with this being my first tri, I'm okay with it.

I was pretty spent from the swim, so I wasn't really expecting a lot performance wise from the bike. In addition, the first 7 or so miles were into a stiff headwind. I was only passed by 2 or 3 riders on the bike. Around mile 4 or so, one of those riders pulled alongside asked what my screen name was (because I was wearing BT colors). When I responded that I was "boyddr", he replied that he was "PDA". I wished him good luck, and he zoomed off. I started to make better time after the halfway point and tried to push until the end. I had no problems dismounting the bike, and wife was there again to snap a picture right after the dismount.

Not a whole lot I could have done differently here either other than not starting off already tired from an exhaustive swim. Additonally, I just need more time in the saddle. I only have about 2 and half months of road biking experience, so I expect this to improve as time goes on. However, in spite of the above, I was happy to break 18 mph.

Another transition where I tarried more than I should have. I could have cut about 30 seconds off of this; but again, this being my first tri - I'm not too concerned about it.

Again, better organization, move faster and have more of a sense of urgency. I know now what to expect, so these will get better.

Starting out of the run I didn't feel like I had a lot left in me. Luckily I didn't suffer from the "jelly legs" that I normally get for the first half mile or so for my brick workouts. I just felt tired and winded, as the swim and the bike had taken a lot out of me. My wife was there again to snap another picture as I started out on the run. About a quarter mile or so into the run, I realized that I had left my race belt and number back in the tranisiton area. I was hoping that with the chip and the body markings, that it wouldn't be a major issue. I then hit the water stop that was manned by the BT'ers and that gave me quite a lift, as it was very cool to have them cheering me on. The course was an out and back, and by the time I had reached the BT waterstop again, I was feeling better. My Garmin said I was at slightly under an 8:00 pace, although I felt like I was moving much slower.

Shortly thereafter, I hard someone call my name, and I saw SweetK running the other way. Little did I know that this would be the only time I would get to see her. A little while later I saw a BT jersey and recognized Julie (jamjam) as I pulled up with her. I called out encouragement to her as I headed towards the finish. I figured she was having a good race, as I knew she had started in the wave after me. I later found out she had taken 3rd in her AG. As I neared the finish line, I saw a 43 on the calf of the runner in front of me, realizing he was in my age group. I picked it up a bit and caught him just prior to the finish line. If I'm reading the results correctly, I believe that was another BTer that I passed - MKraus64, making that a little bittersweet.

Not be so tired from the swim and run. My Garmin had the course at 3.15 miles at a 7:50 pace, while the official results say 3 miles at an 8:13 pace. In either case, I am happy with the time.

They handed out a couple of drinks and a BT cowbell as I crossed the finish line. My family was waiting there for me, and I shared the moment with them. I didn't run into any other BTer's in the finish area. Unfortunately we had to rush back to Corning to a corporate sponsored picnic that we were more or less required to attend; so I didn't get to hang out with the BT crew afterwards.


Lack of swimming prowess which really tired me out; lack of biking fitness, and slow transition times. I really have no complaints though, as all of my times (each area - swim, bike, run, T1, and T2) were faster than I had anticipated.


You only experience your first tri once, and for me it was a very good experience. I survived the swim easier than I had thought, and my family was on hand to share in the accomplishment. I had a lot of support and encouragement from my online BT community, and would like to thank BAMBAM66, mtskibum, Steph883, susanp, and SweetK for just being there. Most importantly, I'd like to thank rstocks3 and McFuzz, who both helped me out a lot more than they know.