Buffalo Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

Good swim! Other than the two Timberman races, where I and everyone else suspect the distance is off, this is a PR for OWS pace for me. It's a nice short swim and it went well overall. There was a ton of congestion around the buoys, but other than that it was ok. On the final stretch back into the shore, I was passing people right and left, it seemed. woo hoo!

Nothing. This was a good swim.

This felt slow, but it was faster than last year, so that's good. Wetsuit got stuck on timing chip, AGAIN, just like it usually does. I decided to go without socks today so that saved a few seconds.

Keep trying to yank that wetsuit off harder the first time.

First of all, I saw Emily (bikergrrrl) volunteering at the bike exit on my way out, so that was a nice surprise! :) I knew if I was going to have a PR today, it was going to have to be accomplished on the bike. So I was going pretty hard, and hoping that I would have some legs for the run. The wind was definitely a factor. It was a fairly strong headwind for a while, and that happened to be on one of the big climbs. Fun! not. There were just a ton of people on the course too, so that presented some challenges when trying to pass sometimes. Good ride, though. First time I've averaged 17 mph in a race. (I think I would have last year, though, except that the official bike distance last year was listed as 12 miles, whereas this year, it was the more accurate 13 miles; it's the same course both years...)

Not drink so much, for one thing. As usual, I didn't get that right. I had the sloshy stomach at the end and the side cramp thing.

Fairly speedy transition, considering the size of the t area.

Well, I overshot my rack by one row, so that certainly didn't help.

HOLY CRAP, people. 9:12/mile! That is by far a PR for me for a run. My best before this was 9:45/mile, and that was two years ago. I am so pleased with this pace, I can't even tell you! I know it's still so slow compared to most people, but it's really good for me.

As usual I got passed a lot on the run, but I tried to keep up with a couple carrot runners in my age group and that really helped, I think.

Oh, and thanks so much to Brian (mndiver) and Kevin (kkokal) for the cheers and high five on the way out to the run! So nice!

A found myself zoning a bit in the middle so I lost some focus there. Otherwise, this was a damn good run for me.

Sucked down some water, ate a cookie, and walked back over to the bikes. We decided to got back to the hotel and check out and then return for the awards. So our warm down was walking the bikes back to the car, I guess.


Weight, hill practice on the bike


I am very happy with this race! I improved my time from last year by over 4 minutes, and it was a PR for this course by 3 minutes. I was also right at the top third for my age group, which is better than my normal right smack in the middle. And of course, the pleasant surprise of the good run was an added bonus.

This race is super well organized, and it's a lot of fun. The give aways are nice (although we didn't win any), as is the swag bag. I'm not super crazy about the color of the tshirt this year (yellow), but that's a very minor issue. Highly recommend this race!

Update, for those interested: Yes, my husband, using the No Training plan, did beat me, as I expected (by 3 minutes). %*($%@&$# He clearly does not understand that the way to ensure a pleasant ride home does NOT involve him beating me AGAIN; especially when he didn't even train. Grumble.