RYKA Iron Girl Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Well, uh, let's see. I made it to the finish without walking! It wasn't too bad, but I tired out.

Swimming is my weakest sport and I am already looking for somewhere to take some lessons and get serious. I really just need to be more comfortable in the water and that is going to take lots of pool time.

I felt pretty good once I got out of the water and stopped weaving around. The transition included a pretty steep incline and I just couldn't run it. I wanted to be in good shape for the bike. Put sunglasses and helmet on immediately. I managed to get socks on pretty quickly and shoes. Grabbed some Powerade and my fuel of choice - gummi bears (I'm experimenting right now, and those have seemed to work lately).

Just try and hurry a bit more, but with the incline into transition, I felt ok with it.

This was a tough course for me. But I finished, and that's all I cared about!

I just haven't done enough cycling. I have a rough time on the hills, but seem to power through at a snail's pace. I look forward to better training and a better experience on the bike.

I tried to hop off the bike at the dismount line, and it was uh, well, not good. I hit my chest on my seat and had to catch my breath. Sort of pushed bike towards rack and looked around dismayed when they were announcing that transition was now open to come pick up your stuff. But someone shouted some encouragement towards me and it really helped! Tossed my hat on and headed out.

More careful getting off the bike and then hustling in transition.

I felt really sludgy leaving transition and had a tough time figuring out where to go because people were blocking the course. Got pointed in the right direction. I ran most of it, but had to stop a few times just from overall tiredness.

I didn't do a very good job with nutrition from the start and I think it affected me by the time I got to the run. I felt ok though and it was over before I knew it!

Stood in line for the breakfast, but got antsy and just grabbed an apple and a bottled water. Got my results printed out and headed home.


Lack of training and bad nutrition before and during the race.


It was a fantastic race. Truly. As my second foray into the world of Triathlon, I am amazed at how friendly everyone is. And I really do love the energy that is in the air at these races. It makes me want to dive in head first to this world of tri. And learn as much as I can. The race organizers did a fantastic job, and as much as I hated taking my bike up the first day, I'm glad I did because I made it to the race a little late Sunday morning and was rushed setting up transition. It would have been worse lugging my bike with me. The race course was laid out well with organizers all along the route cheering us on and directing at every turn. The run course had 2 aid stations, which gave us lots of chances to get fluids. Spectators cheered everyone on, even in the later portions of the race.

Personally, this race reminded me a lot of the Georgia Marathon (my second marathon). I had the same feelings of frustration, which turned into motivation. Motivation to train properly and learn as much as I can about this sport. And with my marathon training going well, it does make me see that tri is possible. So I'm thinking about joining a training group that will give me a chance to get to group rides and swims (after I take a few more swim lessons).

I was being really hard on myself during the car ride home. And then I had to stop and shake my head. Hello - you just finished a triathlon! Enjoy it for a little while before you start analyzing how crappy it was and how much you need to train for the next one. Why am I so hard on myself? It really was an amazing experience. 458 women, all shapes and sizes. Talk about girl power. These women were so awesome. The whole experience just made me want to be a better athlete. To do right by myself and be prepared. Because there are days when I feel like an athlete, and days when I just don't feel capable. Man. I seriously respect any of you out there that are training for these things. Sprint, oly, half and ironman. I don't know how the hell you do it. I'm just gonna say that I respect that distance more than ever before.