Philadelphia Triathlon in Fairmount Park - Sprint Distance - TriathlonSprint

HAD A ROUGH TIME GETTING STARTED DUE TO INITIAL SEEDING/POSITIONING IN THE CROWD. COULD NOT GET A GOOD RYTHYM BEFORE FIRST TURN DUE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC. IRREGULAR BREATHING, SLIGHTLY PANICED, ETC BECAUSE I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH ROOM TO SWIM. FELT STRONG ON THE WAY BACK, MADE UP SOME GROUND. DRIFTED TOO FAR TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE COURSE AND HAD TO SWIM MORE THAN I NEEDED TO. NO WET SUIT ALTHOUGH THE WATER TEMP WAS QUITE NICE. DON'T KNOW IF HAVING A WET SUIT WOULD HAVE IMPROVED MY TIME ENOUGH IN A SPRINT DISTANCE TO MAKE UP FOR THE EXTRA T1 TIME IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN TO REMOVE THE SUIT.

I DEFINITELY SHOULD HAVE SEEDED MYSELF AT THE FRONT/INSIDE OF THE START WAVE. I WOULD SWIM OUT HARD TO BUILD SOME DISTANCE BEFORE GETTING INTO MY NORMAL RYTHYM. I'M A FAIRLY FAST SWIMMER , I THINK ...(NORMALLY IN THE 15 MIN/800 METER RANGE). I JUST LOST CONFIDENCE IN MYSELF AS SOON AS I ENTERED THE WATER AND DECIDED TO SEED MYSELF IN THE REAR/MIDDLE OF THE PACK. THIS CAUSED ME PROBLEMS AS I WAS SWIMMING UP ON PEOPLE IN FRONT OF ME AND COULD NOT GET PAST THEM UNTIL 300 METERS OR SO. I LOST QUITE A BIT OF TIME BECAUSE OF THIS AND FELT I COULD HAVE BEEN OUT IN THE FRONT GROUP.

I DID NOT ATTACH MY SHOES TO THE BIKE. INSTEAD I PUT THEM ON MY FEET AND TRIED TO RUN IN MY BIKE SHOES (DOH!)

I ALSO SWAM IN ONLY SHORTS AND THEN PUT ON MY TRI SHIRT AFTER THE SWIM. THIS TOOK A FEW EXTRA SECONDS SINCE IT WAS HARD GETTING A TIGHT SHIRT ON OVER A PUMPED UP UPPER BODY.

EITHER SWIM IN THE TRI-TOP OR BIKE WITHOUT A SHIRT.
CLIP SHOES TO BIKE AND RUN OUT OF T1 BAREFOOT

FELT STRONG ON THE BIKE. DID NOT FEEL ANY DISCOMFORT IN NECK AND REAR-END THAT I DO IN TRAINING SESSIONS. COULD HAVE PUSHED HARDER BUT WAS NERVOUS ABOUT MY LEGS DURING THE RUN

I WOULD BRING A WATER BOTTLE INSTEAD OF A SPORT DRINK MIXTURE. I GOT COTTON MOUTH DRINKING THE SPORT MIXTURE AND HAD TROUBLE WASHING DOWN THE ONE GEL i TOOK DEEP INTO THE BIKE PORTION. I WOULD ALSO PUSH HARDER THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE COURSE. THE RUN IS PAINFUL AS IT IS AND I SHOULD HAVE BUILT MORE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FASTER RUNNERS AND ME DURING THE BIKE.I FEEL I COULD HAVE DEFINITELY AVERAGED 18.5 OR 19 MPH

WALKED SOME OF THE WAY TO THE BIKE RACK BECUASE SHOES WERE UN STRAPPED BUT STILL ON MY FEET.

TAKE SHOES OFF OF FEET SOONER BEFORE T2 BEGINS, HOP OFF MOVING BIKE AND RUN TO RACK

GOT A MAJOR CRAMP IN MY DIAPHRAGM AROUND THE FIRST MILE MARKER. HAD TO WALK FOR A MINUTE OR TWO TO EASE THE PAIN. STARTED RUNNING AGAIN AND THEN RIGHT QUAD BEGAN TO TIGHTEN UP, WALKED AGAIN FOR ANOTHER MINUTE, FINISHED STRONG OVER LAST MILE

CONCENTRATE ON DEEP REGULAR BREATHING DURING BEGINNING OF RUN TO ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT BREATHING PATTERN. TRY TO RELAX MORE. PUSH HARDER AND DO NOT GIVE INTO URGES TO WALK

NOT MUCH OF ONE. WALKED FOR 5 MINUTES AND STRETCHED A LITTLE


CRAMP, WEAKNESS OF MIND, NOT ENOUGH TRAINING


THIS WAS A FANTASTIC RACE. VERY WELL ORGANIZED. GREAT COURSE, GREAT TRANSITION AREA, GREAT VOLUNTEERS, GREAT PRE AND POST RACE ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES. I COULD NOT FIND FAULT WITH ANYTHING!