Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park - TriathlonSprint

This was probably the worst swim I could've had. It was a logjam at the start and I was getting my a$$ kicked the first 200 meters or so. My goggles started going leaky and I was getting fatigued from the wetsuit being restrictive in the shoulders. I am surprised my swim time was under 2:00/100. I conservatively would expect to do this swim around 11:00.

Do not wear a wetsuit in a short race. Get a triathlon specific wetsuit and make it sleeveless! My wetsuit is for surfing- and it's a cheap one at that. Make sure the goggles are in place better and sealed before the start.

After a bad swim my wetsuit troubles continued- I could not seem to get it off my ankles. I had to sit on the ground and wrestle it off. Then I finally got my shoes, helmet, glasses, race belt on. I was happy to finally get out of that darn transition. I should have been 30-40 seconds faster here- and that was the time I needed for 3rd place

no wetsuit!- or at least practice in a tri specific suit

My sloppiness continues-I had a cleat cover on one of my shoes- so I had to remove it and get clipped back in. After that and the crazy transition, I had a very tough time getting going. I probably averaged 14-16 mph that first mile. Finally settled down on the first downhill and hammered it the rest of the way. I finally got in a zone and had a pretty decent ride. I think my cycling strength could be a little better, but overall pretty pleased with this performance

uncover the cleats, and get more time in the saddle. My training is going to get more bike focused now as this is still a weak area for me.

Stopped at transition line, ran to my spot and racked the bike. Took off helmet, running shoes on and visor- chose not to wear socks this race and it didn't bother me. was a few seconds slow but this transition went much better
BUT....
somehow my bike slipped off the rack and was still standing up, but it was not racked properly. Mr USAT decided to throw on a penalty for 2:00, which I was surprised with after the race. I still do not see how I had any real control of that, or how it affects anyone. I thought penalties were there to protect us- seemed a bit of a stretch to me and it tainted my effort.

I have a tri saddle that has a lip so I may rack it on the back of the saddle, at t2 I will rack it in the front of the saddle- I still don't know how or who knocked it loose
Other than that I will practice the things I can control.

I was still trying to make up time for the wetsuit/swim mess so I was pushing it hard. I thought I was running so slow, but I was actually passing people! Still I figured i was running about a 26 minute 5k. After all the sloppiness I was happy to see my finishing time of 1:14 and thought I may still have a shot at some hardware.

My running is my most improved area. This is 1 minute slower than my 5k pr, so I am thrilled- this run moved me up from 7th to 4th after t2.

cheered on some other finishers then checked the early results. At the time only the top clyde finisher had his run time posted, but all the way up to t2 was posted and I was in a disappointing 7th place- one the run results came in i moved up to 4th. I missed 3rd by a minute. Then I found that I was assessed a penalty- I thought WTF!?! I always follow the rules and had a clean race. If I was in 3rd place I would have argued my point more but it really didn't matter. So officially instead of 4th place- I am in 7th and my usat time is 1:16:27


Stupid penalty, my own sloppiness, inexperience with wetsuit.


Blue sky does a nice job with this series. It is on time and well organized. My only complaint is the penalty- but that is the USAT guy. Not really much to do after the race, so I went home with mixed feelings about this race. It is the first race of my tri season and I learned from some mistakes and will move forward, and at some point this season get my top 3 finish in the clyde division. Sill overcame a lot, had a fantastic run and a good finishing time. It was only last june that I did my first sprint with only a goal of finishing, so I have come a long way, and will continue to get better.