Hoot Lake Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I broke out of the pack and had open water the whole race however, I am still plagued by not being able to see. This race was tough as the markers were very flat. I was tracking fine and swimming pretty straight but not being able to see I always fear I will get off course. I ended up taking my goggles off on the back side as I was able to see better.

Figure out the goggles.

My transitions are usually a bit slow. I think I need to consider riding and running without socks. It seems to slow me down a bit getting my feet dried and the sox on. I also had a GU, which probably took too much time and I don't know that I really needed it.

Experiment with no socks.

The bike portion of triathlons are still very demoralizing for me. I get passed by the majority of the field. Some of it may be equipment but it probably boils down to not enough time in the saddle. I also forgot to put my bike computer on my bike so I was having a hard time knowing if I was riding at the correct cadence. My left foot went numb and my left hamstring was cramping up.

Remember to put my bike computer on. More time in the saddle. Think about investing in some equipment - shoes, tires and tri shorts should be the basics.

Too much time tying my shoes.

Look at speed laces.

The start of the run is a fairly steep hill right out of the transition area. The next two miles were down hill and/or flat but the last mile was all up hill, a long gradual incline. I did better than I expected, only walking through the water stations.

Practice on hills.

Drank some water and ate a banana.


My lack of training. That being said my goal was 1:50 and I came in 15 seconds below that so.... I really expect that I should be able to improve on those times if I train more. I would like to shave at least 10 minutes off my time next year, maybe 15.


I plan on doing this race again - want to see if I can own the hills the next time around. I think the event will improve as the Y becomes more seasoned with running triathlons.