Virginia Run Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Similar to last year's race, the swim was a little bit of a mess. Before I started, everyone was swimming on top of eachother during the first lap. I had clear lanes for most of the swim. I passed someone at one of the walls and attempted to pass two others at the 225 meter mark (but they weren't letting me pass). Flip turning and pushing off into the other lane was above average. As I was getting out of the pool, I hit my shin on the lip of the cement pool *OUCH* (and now have a huge, painful bruise).

Not completely happy with this swim time, but I feel it's hard to have a fast split in a pool swim like this. Also, I wore my Team GU shorts and jersey - first time swimming in a shirt. I would have swim harder/be more agressive about passing and not hit my shin.

Actually felt great running from the pool to the bike. As with last year, the run is on very rough blacktop which hurts your feet. My bike rack was pretty close to the swim so it wasn't too bad.

Nothing. Great T1 - shaved 2 minutes from last year. Last year I put on a long sleeved shirt and went without it this year.

I felt great on the bike from the start, besides being wet and cold. First loop was uneventful. Brad passed me mid-way through the first loop. I spun up the two hills and enjoyed the tailwind on the way to start the second loop. Second loop was similar to the first except my feet were getting progressively colder and colder. Ended the bike strong pushing it hard down Pleasant Valley with that extra kick from the tailwind.

Nothing at all...I felt awesome on the bike (and was 2 minutes faster than last year)!

As I got off the bike, my feet felt like frozen blocks. I racked my bike and had a little bit of an issue getting it into the rack (I've never used this kind before...it holds just your wheel). I sat down to change shoes so I could brush off the rocks that were in my bike shoes on the run from the pool. Grabbed my visor and glasses and I was off.

Not sit down...I probably would have moved faster if I stayed standing.

As soon as I started running, my feet felt like frozen blocks! I grabbed a cup of water at the beginning of the run and continued on. Besides my feet, my body and breathing felt great right off the bat. I saw Rick early on my run and he was cruising and looking strong! I then saw Brad before hitting mile one and he looked great! I hit the first mile marker and was so happy with my first split! I saw Ernie before I hit the turn around and water stop. I grabbed some water and knew I was almost finished. I saw Ron shortly after I made the turn around. In some ways, I would have been happy for him to catch me so we could run together (or I could pace with him). On the other hand, I didn't want him to catch me. It was just something to keep me going and to push me. I hit the turn and knew the finish was close. As I turned the last corner to the finish, I saw Brad cheering for me and I finished strong.

Nothing at all! It was the best run I've had off the bike ever!!
And it was fun to keep an eye out for friends on the course! Ended up shaving 5 minutes and 30 seconds off of last year's run time on the same course.

Grabbed some food and hung around talking to peeps (Ron, Ernie, Rick, and met Chippy for the first time). After Brad checked out the results and thought he placed 4th in his AG, we decided to hit the road. I didn't even look at my results. I knew I did better than last year, but wouldn't have ever thought I'd place in my AG!


I am not sure I could have performed much better (especially after riding 100 miles the day before). I felt strong from the start!


After doing this race again, I'd say it's again a great race! Besides being local so we can sleep in our own bed, it was well run, and a decent course for being in a neighborhood. Despite the weather being chilly and the start being early, it's a fun, organized race that I'll add to my calendar for next year.