Summit Solstice Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

So, I definitely need to do more OWS. I decided this last year, but our weather had been so bad I didn't get much OWS practice in. I feel strong swimming in a pool even though I'm not very fast, but in the lake I just couldn't find my stroke, struggled to get my breathing under control and had a terrible time trying to sight. I would flip over and do backstroke for awhile to catch my breath and then end up swimming on top of someone because I couldn't see, so then I'd go back to FS and feel panicky and unable to get my breath again. The course had a long straight away with a very small buoy on the end which made sighting really tough. I know I should swim as long as possible, but for some reason didn't do it and struggled quite a bit getting out of the lake on the rocky bottom. I have alot of work to do on my swim, but now I know what to work on in my training.

practice OWS more, keep swimming as long as possible

I have no idea of transition time, but it felt OK. I didn't rush, but wetsuit came off smoothly and everything else went well. Not quick but no difficulties either

hurry a little more

Loved riding my sizzano. Passed lots of people on the bike, which is new for me :) This was the strongest part of the race for me. I also hydrated well with my aero bottle, and had some hammer gel after about 5 miles. Passed alot of the tri clinic girls, many of who were on mountain bikes. I think they'll be looking for road bikes after this one :)

Learn how to do the flying leap thing. :) Stay in aero position more.

Again don't know the time, but felt OK.

hurry a little more

This was the strangest run course I've been on. We ran up the street from the transition area, turned and ran up a street with a pretty long, steep hill. At the top of the hill was a turnaround where we ran back down the hill, back to the main road until we turned at a road where you could see the finish line just ahead, but, no, there was still 1.4 miles to go. Ran up another couple hills and turned into a field of tall grass. Ran through the field then down a trail and finally made it to the finish line. The run was a slog for me. My feet were numb for the first 1/2 mile or so, I got passed by a bunch of people and my calves were killing me. There wasn't any water stops, and even though I hydrated well on the bike my mouth was getting really dry and I would have appreciated one water stop.

more hill and trail run training. Could have pushed harder on the run, but I really don't think my calves would let me.

When I crossed the finish line the clock said 1:49:34 and I thought well I wish I'd been faster but it's at least a few minutes faster than my first tri. Then I saw Holly and Josh who congratulated me on making my goal, and reminded me that the clock started with the men's wave 10 minutes before the women. Yay, I did make my goal of under 1:40! Thanks Holly and Josh for giving me the good news! :)Chatted with all the cool people at the race. Walked back to the lake for the awards ceremony and prizes. The guy who taught the tri clinic won, which was awesome!


need more OWS practice, training, and experience


The swim and bike course were great with the exception of needing a bigger buoy or maybe a couple buoys on the swim course. The run course seemed pretty chaotic and definitely could have used at least one water stop. For the first year they did a pretty good job though and will hopefully work out some of the kinks next year, especially the chip timing.