Virginia Run Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Oh for the love of Pete! I did an all out sprint for the first 100yds - what was I thinking? You'd think I've never swam before. Couldn't get my breathing synched up, couldn't coordinate my strokes. Totally spaced out. Stopped at the wall at 150 for 2 people to pass me (Grr!) and give myself a stern talking to mentally. Got it together for the last 100yrds and did beautifully. Stooopid, stooopid me!

Relax on the swim start!!!!

Pretty good considering my brain was oxygen deprived from the swim.

Learn how to transition with shoes already clipped in.

This is my biggest triumph for this race. I felt really strong for the entire ride and was actually suprised at how quickly it went by. For the first time in a race, I got out of the saddle and climbed on hills and felt pretty doggone good about it. A huge confidence builder for me. Last year my avg. was 14.4 mph and I had nothing left for the run. Quite a different story this year.

Be more aggressive on the course, especially the hills.

My transition area was just a nightmare. This chick next to me racked her bike on one side and set up her transition area on the other side of the rack to start with. When she returned from the bike she racked her bike in the wrong slot on the complete opposite side from where she started. Racked her bike in my slot... GRRRRR!!!

Learn to get my feet out of my shoes and ride on top of shoes. Flying dismount, baby!!

My feet were completely numb coming off the bike and they didn't warm up until the turn around point. Did much better pacing on the first part of the run and had a lot of gas left in the engine to pick up the pace on the last half of the run. I was nowhere near giving it everything I had on the run which kind of boggles my mind now. Why didn't I push harder? (My strong point!!) I think I was just happy to be having a great race - amidst the personal struggles I'm going through right now... it just felt great to be out there and feeling good.

Push harder and be more aggressive on the run.

Walked around, got some food and watched for my friend Giovanna at the finish line. Found Ernie (ejc999)shortly after finishing - actually he probably found me. :) We talked and cut up while Gio and I scarfed down some food.


Home and relationship stress and 4 hrs of sleep the night before didn't do me any favors. Consistent training and dealing with stress better would also help.


I love this race! Shandra(RD) does a great job with organization and the relaxed feel to this venue makes for a great 1st tri of the season.

So, there were performance, mental and setup issues for me on this race. So what!!! I really had a great time today. A great, fun day for me regardless of my times or standings. Made a big improvement over last year and I'll continue to make more improvements. That's what it's all about, right? :)

Also very thankful for all the people I've met on BT in the last year and got to hang out with for a bit at the race. You guys make me laugh and I appreciate that more than you know. :)