Lake Tanglewood Tri to Make a Difference - TriathlonSprint

I panicked a bit on the swim. The water temperature was reported the day before the race, but there was flash flooding the night before. I think it was colder than 77. The water was very murkey. I couldn't get into a good rhythm. I backstroked about half of it, if not more than half. I seemed to do better if my face was out of the water.
Also, my bra made a nice little parachute when I was freestyling.

Get closer to the start bouy when the gun goes off.
Practice more open water swims.
Practice more endurance swims without breaks.
Get a tri top or swim top.

Took my time because I didn't want to forget anything. No problems in transition.

Nothing

I had a hard time getting my feet into the stupid toe clips at the begining.
The bike course was nice. The first big hill was 1.5 miles into the course, I had barely caught my breath from the swim when this hill appears. It was huge. We were told it was short and steep. It was steep but it was not short. I was determined to get up it. During pre-race meetings we were told that only 12 of the 120 participants last year made it up the hill without getting off the bike and walking. I was doing good, my training partner was about 100 yards in front of me going into it. I tried to encourage her so that we would both make it. I caught up to here and I was right on her back tire. She suddenly got off the bike without warning and I ran into her and had to stop. There was no getting back on after that, the hill was too steep. We made it about 3/4 of the way up.
The rest of the course went well, mostly flat and downhill. I couldn't tell how fast I was going. I don't have a computer yet. So I just keept a steady pace until the half-way mark and then kicked it in gear.

Get a computer for my bike. I didn't know how fast I was going, I didn't want to go to fast and bonk on the run but I also wanted to keep a decent pace.

Had toe clips so this transition was pretty smooth since my running shoes were already on.

Nothing. Maybe take a gel during the transition.

I was feeling so beat at this point, not to mention I was dreading the run. It was very hilly. My plan was to run the down hills and flats and walk the uphills and aide stations. I walked a lot more than I planned on.
When I saw pictures of my run, I realized why I was so tired. My posture was horrible, I was leaning forward and had my shoulders rounded fromt he start...no wonder I couldn't breath, I had my whole chest cavity closed off.

Focus more on my posture so that I can be more efficient.
Have a better plan going into the run and stick to it.
Drink a little less.
Push myself harder!

Took some pictures, meet up with my training buddy. Drank a poweraide. And then eventually got a burger!


Limited experience. My training could have improved a bit. But from comming from almost NO experience in swimming, biking, or running or any kind of racing; I was fairly pleased with my performance.

I think condinued training and races will help me improve.


This race was very well organized. I loved that I was supporting a good cause. There were almost as many volunteers as participants. There were lots of aid stations with cold water, oranges and cold rags. The people who lived along the race course were very supportive and sat outside and cheered us on. One man even had his sprinkler out and hosed us down when we passed on the run!

Everyone was so supportive, even the race participants. People were encouraging each other left and right. It was such a positive atmosphere, which made this a great first race for me!