SheROX Philadelphia Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This went over much better than the last one. I gained nearly 5 minutes time, although it was a slightly shorter distance (~100 yards) and we did work with the current. However, mentally I was in a better place, and swam continuously without having to tread apart from when I got kicked in the stomach. Towards the end of the swim my arms did get tired since they were doing most of the work. I was glad to find that they had folks helping people out of the water, because the last time I had almost twisted my ankle on the rocks, and with my already weak and sore ankle this time I was worried that I would go down. Thankfully, the great volunteers practically lifted me out of the water.

I probably would have worn a neoprene brace in the water, which would have allowed me to stabilize my ankle enough that I could have kicked more and I could have gone faster.

This transition was okay. It could have been shorter, but I had to put on my brace which took a few minutes and before that I wanted to rinse my feet of the sand and goose poop. On the run out I felt minor discomfort in my cleats, and one of my gels fell off the little clip i had rigged up on my cables.

Overall, I thought my transitions went well. Next time I'd probably figure out a better method to hold my gels, so I wouldn't lose one.

This course was the same as the last tri I did, the Philly Sprint Tri. This time it went better, I think because I invested in a computer so I could monitor my pace. The start was good and I felt good at about 20 mph, but my speed dropped pretty low on the hills (11). About 1/2 of the course had a fairly strong headwind, particularly the parts after the hills (go figure!). Towards the end I started to get winded and it was a struggle to keep my speeds up at 17 or 18. By that time my ankle was starting to feel it. No sharp pains, but it was just aching. I was still contemplating bailing on the run if the ankle felt bad at the dismount. Took in one gel during this leg, 1/2 on the first lap and 1/2 on the second.

I would probably spin it out a bit at the beginning, I think I went too hard during the first lap. Also I would not drop my gel in transition.

The run in hurt my ankle alot. For some reason running in cleats threw my stride off enough to make my ankle feel it. The transition itself went well, other than that I hadn't checked to see if my sock and shoe would fit over the ankle brace. It did, but barely. I decided that my ankle felt really supported in my sneaker and brace so I would do the run (or walk).

Nothing.

This was surprisingly good, though my time wasn't as good as my last event. My ankle felt really solid in the sneaker and brace, but my pace was slightly off, I seemed to be limping a bit and the first mile while it felt good, was very slow and shuffling. I ate a bit of gel at the first mile, but it almost came back up. Apparently gels while cycling are okay, but don't agree during a hot run. Had some sips of water and continued on. After that the run got better, but it was hot. By mile 2 I had reached the drinks again and took a few sips of gatorade, but I must have dropped the rest of my gel so didn't take any more. I was able to get into a nice rhythm/pace towards the last 1/2 mile, but overall I was just happy to be able to finish the run without being in pain.

Not sprain my ankle 1 week before the event? Well, apart from that I might have tried to step up the pace a bit at the front, or maybe not have biked as hard at the last bit of the last leg, because my legs were feeling it by the end of the run. But the visor I wore and sunglasses really helped to keep much of the sun away.

I made sure to drink alot of water. Last time I had tried to eat some sport beans right afterward, I have no idea why, and they made me want to get sick or pass out. This time though I found some shade and walked and drank water for about 20 minutes before getting food. I'd say I felt pretty good after the race, and I made sure to get some of the nice volunteers to give me a bag of ice to ice my ankle down with while I ate.


Obviously, my injury. But surprisingly enough, I actually managed to beat my last time by about 3 minutes. While 3 minutes isn't much, I was much happier with both my swim and my bike performances than the last time, as I felt like I should have done much better then. My run this time, well it was about average with my training runs, so I was content (although I would have liked to have done as well as the last one!). Really, though, I was quite pleased with what I did considering my injury. Now lets just hope I haven't done any damage!


First off, initially I hadn't been sure about an all-woman's tri. MOstly because, well, I'd already done a unisex one on the same course. But due to my unhappiness with my results last time, I wanted another go at it. I thought the race was really well-run. The pre-race expo was jam packed with stuff (not as much free goodies as the Philly Insurance Tri, but lots more vendors selling good stuff). And the race volunteers were awesome. There was some confusion about the swim start, but it got sorted out. Everyone seemed really great and helpful, and the food at the end rocked, there was tons of it. I thought this was a great event with some great schwag. We got an awesome handbottle for running with from Nathan Sports and a really nice wicky tee. Overall a good race, though I don't think I'd do it again since it's pretty similar to the Philadelphia INsurance race.