Merrill Lynch Race For Sight Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I wasnt very happy with this swim. In my test i swam a 6:42. I seeded myself with the 7:00 minute people and I thought i would be fine. I guess ducking under the ropes for me takes a long time. I was passed by 3 people during the swim. I really dont think it was my best performance, but i am not sure how i could have improved it. I probably could have hopped into the pool and done a couple of practice laps to get myself warmed up. When it was my turn i hopped into the water and the water seemed cold and it was alittle shocking to me. Live an learn here. I guess.

I will do a couple of practice laps in 50 meter pool before doing this race next year. I have been swimming in a 25 yard pool and the difference in length definately makes a difference.

Ok here is where i really messed up. Upon exiting the swim, you ran out of the rec center, down a sidewalk onto an astroturf field into transition. As i ran out of the rec center I got a blast of cold air from the 40 degree weather outside. I ran along with a group that came out of the water the same time as me. I ran along the side walk as the arrows directed, but these people cut the corner and took about 50 feet of their transition run. What bothers me about this is that a volunteer was standing right there and didnt say a thing. I got alittle angry and sprinted past the people into the transition area. Upon entering the transition area I had a big decision to make: Put on and jacket and be comfortable on the bike, or go without it and possible freeze my butt off. I pondered for a second while i ran into transition and decided to get the jacket. As i started to put it on i realized that the sleeves were inside out and it took a while to get them untangled and right side out. This basically killed my T1 time. I felt pretty comfortable for bike ride, but i think that the time I wasted in T1 would not have been lost if i were a bit uncomfortable on the bike.

Not put the jacket on....or made sure the sleeves were right side out when i set up transition..

Overall i was pleased with my ride. My goal was to avg over 21 mph and i was able to avg 21.9. I think it was pretty good

I maybe could have pushed a bit more, but I wanted to make sure i had something for the run

My bike dismount was pretty good. I may have slowed a bit too much while I was taking my feet out of my shoes. Jumping off the bike was pretty close to flawless but i think that i could have done a bit better getting my shoes on and taking my jacket off

i wouldnt have a slowed as much and i would have gotten my shoes on a bit faster

It was a pretty uneventful run. I was running hard and was only passed once. I met my goal of avg under 7:30 miles. My toes were cold at the start of the run, but after they warmed up, I felt really strong. For me, it was a pretty good run (especially after the bike)

nothing.. perhaps i could have gone faster??

I walked around an stretched a bit


Overall i was pleased with the race. When i was done, i felt really good. I beat my time from last year by 12 minutes!! I did much better in my AG than last year, but after analyzing the race result all i can think of is "what if?" I was 8th place in AG which was good but I was only 1 min 21 second out of 3rd place. I wasted at least 45 second in T1 and my swim could have been better. My poor decision to put on the jacket, basically cost me a podium finish. I am not too bummed out, just a bit disappointed in my decision. I am totally happy with the way i performed in the bike and run and i did very well so overall this was good race for me despite some setbacks.


It is a good race. Great for your first tri. Ultramax always does a good job!!