Virginia Run Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Was a little concerned to be #129 as I consider myself a decent swimmer. After the first 50, I passed the woman in front of me. Ended up passing another 3-4 people at the walls which slowed me down a little. Managed to do flip turns when I could and under lane lines. Swim initially was freezing, but actually warmed up to a comfortable temp before having to get out. Time includes a 25 ft. run to timing mat.

Swim harder and seed myself better.

Running on the blacktop in bare feet in the transition area is pure torture. It needs to be repaved. Uneventful T1. I should have moved faster...I felt on autopilot a bit. Hustled w/ bike to mount line though.

Move faster.

Decided not to put on a L/S shirt so I just went with my tri top. Was a little cold to start, but warmed up so just my hands and feet were cold. Scott passed me almost immediately and I then saw Brad. Ride felt comfortable the whole time. The first loop was a lot less crowded than the second, but still felt good. Took a few sips of water, but not much as the temp was still cool. Had some issues shifting at times since my hands were so cold. Gave a good final push at the end back to the TA.

Nothing. Solid bike for me. I could tell when I got off the bike, my legs had worked.

Run from dismount to rack was torturous. My feet were so cold and numb!
When I got to my rack, someone didn't rack their bike properly and ended up taking a few spots. Not a fan of these racks (they hold only your wheel). Messed w/ that for a few seconds. Decided after the blister incident in Hilton Head, I needed to run w/ socks. My hands were so cold I felt like I had gloves on and couldn't really use my fingers. Finally got socks and shoes on and put on my race belt as I ran to the run start.

Maybe put on socks in T1 during this race as my feet and hands just got colder.

Feet were total blocks of ice, but I kept a quick cadence and short strides to warm up. A woman racked near me beat me in on the bike and out of T2, but I soon caught her. Felt good and could tell I was pushing the pace. Kept my short strides up the first hill where I saw Brad and Scott coming back. Managed a wave to say hello and kept going. Saw Shelly, Z and Ernie out there as well before hitting the water stop. The return trip was more of the same...pushing the pace and using the downhills. I kept finding people to pick off. At one point, a guy tried to start talking to me, but I wasn't really having it so I kept on going. Caught another female and wondered if I could hold her off to the finish. Pushed the pace once we were near the TA and then again as I rounded the final turn to the finish.

Nothing at all. 5K PR by a lot. Kick ass run for me

Changed out of wet tri-suit and packed up car. We met up w/ BT crowd and hung out waiting for results and awards.


Probably only the temperature. I could shave off some time in my T1 and T2 this year. Still ended up shaving almost 4 minutes off of last year's time.


Third year in a row of doing this race. It's nice to be able to sleep in our own bed, but the 6:30 race start is early.
Pros - chip timing. fun, fast course. local race. decent give aways in packets. results were posted fast (at the race site and on the internet)
Cons - early and cold. lot of transition area is awful and desperately needs to be repaved if people are walking/running barefoot. one of the stands serving coffee ran out of cups. took a while to get the awards ceremony going, but maybe it seemed longer b/c I was cold.

Very fun race, mostly b/c of the BT showing. Will add this to next year's schedule.