Zoot Sprint Triathlon - Triathlon

This was a big breakthrough swim for me!! For the first time, I had an open water race where I swam with no panic, with my head in the water, and felt as comfortable as I would have in a pool. I was still slow, but my HR was under control and I was thinking about swimming rather than drowning. It actually may have helped that one of Jenna's co-workers told her about a couple of bodies that had not been recovered from the lake a few weeks ago. Since I was kind of looking for stuff under the water, I was distracted from my own issues...and hey, if I went under, at least I would have company!

Now that I may have solved my open water fears, I need to concentrate on getting better at actually swimming. The swimming challenge that I am in right now should help. I also need to work on my sighting. Since I had never been able to swim with my face in open water, I didn't realize how much I drift to the right. I got way off course a few times, and probably ended up swimming 1200 instead of 1000 meters.

I was a little wobbly and disoriented coming out of the lake. I had stepped on a bunch of rocks coming out of the water and had a lot of trouble getting my wetsuit off. The transition took 4:00 minutes but a lot of that time was spent stepping very gingerly up the boat ramp over the rocks, pebbles, and gravel.

Swim to the front of the boat ramp before coming out of the water - it was less rocky.

It was a good bike segment considering I didn't get passed at all. However, I had done the course faster in training. I also did not get by people as easily as I have in other races - every time seemed to be a challenge. The gearing was smooth and I think I changed to the right gears at the right times. The bike course was a real challenge due to all of the hills. They were punishing, and by the end of the couse, my legs were really hurting. It was also starting to get warm. I drank more on the bike in this race, which probably helped later.

Practice more on hills. The only thing I felt I was lacking was additional power to get up the hills more efficiently. If I can increase my climbing pwer, endurance will come with it and improve the subsequent run.

I was pretty spent by the time I got into transition. The organizers had things really smooth in that they took your bike and racked it for you and at the same time, another volunteer found your bag and handed it to you - no wasted time at all. One volunteer was even nice enough to help me get my bike stuff back in the bag so I could get on the run course (kind of a mixed blessing).

This transition is kind of a blur and I wasn't really ready for the run when I started, but I still got on my feet and wandered onto the trail.

I knew that the course was going to be tough, having seen it before, but the run was brutal. I stepped on a rock less than 1/10 of a mile in and bruised my foot. After that, I was trying to find a soft place to land with every step. The hills were steep, and at times the course turned into more of a death march than a run. I wasn't alone - everyone else around was having similar trouble. By the time I made it onto the road for the last mile, I couldn't wait for it to be over. Once on the road (which was also hilly), I took a drink and choked on the water - made the experience that much more enjoyable. I actually laughed as I was coughing because I was having such a hard time.

Train more on hills and trails. I wasn't ready for that aspect, even though I had done the course before. I need to work on my leg strength - my legs just didn't have enough left to finish strong. Even so, I kind of wish I had tried to push a little harder just too see if I could have come in under two hours.

Sat with Jenna, Barley, and Harry contemplating how to get back to the car without having to wait for a shuttle.


Strength on hills in the run and bike.


Despite very difficult logistics (separate parking areas, start/T1, T2, and finish area), the oragnizers did a very good job. There were a lot of volunteers, and they were very helpful. The announcements were freqent and clear. And the course...oh, man, the course. It is called a 'sprint', but it was much more than that. Overall, I think this one may have been harder than the Soma 1/4. I learned in this race that a) I can swim in open water, and b) I need to train to be stronger under adverse conditions. Overall, it was a great course and a great race. I will be back next year, and I think I'll be going back to the lake to train on a regular basis. If I can get better on this course, it will make my other events that much easier.