Philadelphia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Compared to the last time, this was an awesome swim. I didn't freak out when the horn went off. I remained calm and swam the majority of the distance using freestyle. My time was slow, but I deliberately took it easy in the water in an attempt to prevent another gasping for air backstroke fest in the water :) It worked and I actually passed some red caps instead of seeing the pack move further and further away from me.

Push myself!!

T1 went a lot better this time. I was able to run from the swim exit to my bike. I didn't have blister issues like my first tri so I went without socks. I had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off. I had some issues getting my left foot clipped in at the start.

Just move faster, but overall I was pleased with this transition.

Here's where I really need to improve. I don't run into the danger of going too hard on the bike yet because the confidence just isn't there. I brake / coast for pretty much everything.... turns, slight downhills, road surface changes.. you name it. I also got a helmet sticker stuck on my tire and rode with a "click.. click.. click..." for about 5 miles until it finally fell off. I probably annoyed the heck out of the people around me :)

I did better this time and had a higher MPH average, but this course was fairly flat and didn't have the two turn around points like the Philly sprint.

Work on the bike to gain confidence and really be able to push to my fitness limit. The only time I have ever been able to push that hard has been on my heavy mountain bike. It's a vicious cycle though because I know I need more time in the saddle, but I'm terrified of going out on the roads (same problems with braking / coasting) and bike paths aren't much better. I dislike it so I don't do it. I LOVE to ride in race situations. I need to find a place to ride where I can push, practice bike handling skills, and overcome my biking fears. Maybe more time on the trainer would help, but I don't think my problems have to do with fitness... it's my timid bike riding that's the main problem.

This went well. I had no problems racking the bike. I probably could have gotten my shoes on faster, but overall I was pleased with T2 :)

Be faster.. there's always room for improvement!

I rocked this run. The course was nice and flat so that helped out with my time :) I PRed the 5k distance by 20 seconds. I was so close to breaking into my 23:XX goal. Passed 6 or 7 people in my AG on the run, but got passed by 3 people. The discipline I'm spending the most time training for is improving.. imagine that ;) My left shoe did rub on the side of my foot and caused a hot spot. I'll put some vaseline there next time to prevent problems.

Break into 23:XX.

Found Steve and the dog, ate an awesome post-race brunch provided by Panera bread. Checked the race results, packed up my stuff, and headed back to the hotel. I felt A LOT better crossing the line this time and didn't have that dizzy / pass out feeling that I felt after my half marathon and first tri. I was tired, but not scary lightheaded tired :)


Bike confidence.


This was a very organized, spectator friendly race. Plently of volunteers and drink stations. The course was well marked. The only thing I didn't like was a spot on the bike course where we went over a bridge with some metal parts with ridges. I didn't see anyone have problems with it on my first loop because the course wasn't as crowded, but there were 5 people on the side of the bridge during the second loop. I'll bet they had problems when their tires hit that metal part. I didn't have any problems because I was uber cautious (of course!!) when I crossed over it :)

This was my 2nd tri and I tried to go through it with a "push it" mentality instead of a "just get through it" mentality like I had during my first race. Hopefully I'll continue to improve!