Tinsel Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

No chip timing so I don't really know... Swimming is my strength so 3 laps in a pool was pretty simple. I passed a lot of the people who flew by me on the bike. Pool swimming was pretty chaotic, people hanging on to the lane lines and the edge of the pool.

Wasn't sure what the swim would be like so I left my towel in transistion, should have brought it with me and left it on the deck - It was a cold walk back to the transistion.

T1 was going from the run to the bike - not too bad. I don't have bike shoes so all I needed to do was put on a windbreaker, gloves, camelback and helmet (which I managed to put on backwards) yes, that was me...

It was about a 2 min. transistion which was way better than the 7 min. it took me at the Encinitas Sprint...

run and bike in the same exact clothes, pay attention to which way my helmet is on...

The bike is my weakness but I was on my new road bike so this time I heard less people yelling "on your left" and actually passed a few people. When my shadow shifted and I realized that I had my helmet on backwards I just had to laugh a bit - I'm sure I'm not the first one in the history of Tri's - but it figures I would do something like that.

Then I was distracted as to wether I could turn my helmet around while biking (I decided that no, I couldn't), and wether I should stop and switch it around (yes I did).

Put the helmet on correctly and practice more...

T2 was from bike to swim. Went pretty well, stripped down pretty quick and ran to the pool. Put my cap and goggles on while in transistion. Left towel with my stuff, wish I would have taken it with me...

Take a towel.

The run was pretty simple. I got a wicked side ache and probably should have walked it off but in a 5K I didn't want to walk, so I pushed through. Probably would have been faster to walk it off then run faster, but oh well.

Eat a better breakfast, figure out how to avoid the side ache...

Not a lot, walked for a bit...


Training, focus


I have to be honest - I didn't love it. The course was pretty boring and the T-shirt and the medal were way lame (not that I race for the goodie bag, but these were some of the worst I've seen in 20+ years of competitive sports).

I'd rather have chip timing and no SWAG or a cheaper race entry instead. My first triathlon was such a great, inspiring experience that this (my second) really didn't live up to my expectations.

One cool thing was that there were a lot of kids there both for the 5k and the Tri. I would think this would be a great race for a family or a child who wants to get out there and give it a shot.

For me, it was fine as something to do, but I won't be back.