Big Fish Triathlon - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

I felt supremely confident going into the swim. I was well prepared, swimming well, and ready to go. I really stunk it up though. It took me quite a while to figure out what I did wrong. I was gassed after about 150m, and could never get into a strong rhythm, or get any real momentum going in the water. Its like I forgot how to swim. I wasn't uncomfortable either.

It took me at least 24 hours to figure out what I was doing wrong. I wasn't rolling in the water. I was just keeping my chest parallel to the water and flailing my arms around. It made for no speed, no efficiency in my stroke, restricted breathing, and it shot my HR WAY up. It was a combo of bad crawling, breaststroke and a little elementary backstroke to get through it. By the time I got out of the water, my HR was 202. That's two beats from my run max!

I knew I would not have good transition times. Frankly, I didn't care about that part. I wanted to make sure that I got everything that I needed, and after that swim, I just wanted to catch my breath. I talked to Don for a minute at T1.

I suppose I could practice and get a routine down, but it wasn't important to me this time. It was fine.

I had a little trouble clipping in at first. Not a big deal though. I didn't hold anyone up. Got up to speed fairly quick. Hit the first big downhill and got the bike up to 51.1 mph! I passed a bunch of people immediately, but I didn't do a good job continuing to pass. I let myself get stuck behind slower riders and didn't pass aggressively. This is something I need to work on. I averaged 2.5 mph slower than the last time I rode the course. On the plus side, I cruised up the final uphill without any problems. It was comfortable and didn't leave me gassed for the final mile.

Pass more aggressively. Be confident that I'd have enough gas left in the tank after the ride.

Again, I wasn't really concerned with the T times. I took my time to put on socks, get a drink and stretch a little bit before the run.

I don't know, try to be quick?

I struggled with the run. I walked a few small sections. My HR was falling, and my legs were giving out. I was tired, but ran the last mile into the finish fairly strong.

Don't let myself walk unless I have a cramp. Run harder. Train harder for the run. I only ran twice in the 2.5 weeks leading up to the race. My knee kept me for running anymore.

Cold towel, watermelon, water, and hang with the family.


I had a cold, I was recovering from a bum knee, and I totally screwed up the swim. The swim set the tone for me, and it was not positive.


The organizers did a great job. There was a bit of a delay in the start, but not a big deal. The course was well laid out and planned.

Even though I performed very poorly, I had a good time. I had a REALLY good time. While I was on the course, I didn't spend much time beating myself up over times and effort, I just enjoyed the day.

I learned a lot, and my next race will show a MASSIVE improvement.