Timex Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

The race was wetsuit legal, so I got to wear the new wetsuit. I didn't have any issues being in the open water, so I was comfortable. During the swim, I never could get enough space to really get into a rhythm, but that often happens in mass start events. I was boxed in on all four sides for the entire swim, but made the most of it. Compared to last year, it was a huge improvement. After getting out of the water, a stripper helped me with the wetsuit, which probably saved me about five minutes of wrestling with it.

Maybe try to get further outside and find some open space to swim normally.

Fast, smooth transition; everything was laid out well.

Nothing

The bike seemed to be going well. However, the magnet had fallen out of alignment with the sensor, so I didn't know my speed. If only that was going to be my only equipment issue. After one lap, I was cruising. I was passing numerous people, keeping a solid cadence, and occasionally I would get passed by the whoosh of racing wheels, but I felt good. As I was rounding the last major turn on lap two, I felt my wheel wobble under me. It was flat. There was no riding it in since I had at least 1.5 miles to go, so I stopped to change it. Being a sprint, I had one spare, which I expected to be enough (especially with two co2 cartridges and a hand pump as a backup). The change seemed to be going okay, even though I snapped a tire lever. I got the the tire off and the new tube in okay. When I started to inflate it, I felt it rise and then go immediately down again. I thought that I had lost the seal on the co2 cartridge, so I got the second one out. This one didn't work at all. Was there a problem with the valve? I was down to my last resort with the hand pump. I started trying to pump, but it went no where. I was out of supplies. ***NOTE - I figured out later that a shard of plastic from the broken tire lever had remained under the tire and had punctured the spare. I'm not sure how the original went flat, but this explains why I couldn't inflate the spare.*** I now had a decision to make. Do I bag the race or not? I decided that with a mile and a half to go, I could still walk it in and start running. I tried running in the bike shoes, to no avail. So with the broken inner tube over my shoulder, I set off for the finish line. I became more determined as I went. Losing time, I decided that I would stick it out and keep going until they closed the course in front of me if it came to that. I finally got to the finish of the bike. All told, I had lost about a half hour. When I got to the line, Jenna saw me and asked what had happened. I told her that I had flatted and couldn't repair it. I went into transition hoping to have a good run.

Take more time being careful when changing the tire; if I had found the shard of plastic, I may have been able to get back on the road; I wish my rim tape had been changed on the rear wheel before the event

quick transition to change into my running shoes and hit the trail. As I left transition, I saw Jenna again. As I passed her, I smiled and said 'Damned if I was going to quit!"

Transition, under the circumstances, was great

The run felt pretty good. I felt strong and confident throughout, even though I wasn't fast. I even had a short burst left at the end coming over the Mill Ave. bridge and into the finish. I would have liked to have done the 5K in under 30:00, but that will be a goal for another day. I felt good having overcome the bike trouble and bringing it in.

Could have pushed the pace a little more

Just a cup of gatorade and some granola


Flatting on the bike!!!!


On a day that was supposed to be about increased speed over last year, instead it became one that was about heart and dedication maintained. I know that last year I forged on despite feeling that I was going to drown. I am glad to know that even though I have grown to care about my times, I don't care so much that I am willing to take a DNF instead of a slow time if there is anything within my power that I can do to prevent it. When the dust settled and I got to look over the day, I felt really good about the things that were within my control. My times across the board were better than last year. Even with a half hour lost, I was still 18 minutes below last year's time. If I had completed the bike when I expect I would have, my time would have put me in the front of the back of the pack, which is a big improvement. Overall, some bad luck on an otherwise good day.