YMCA Spring Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This was my first experience whatsoever in a competitive pool environment. I got there early just to observe the fast guys and gals, which included several ex-collegiate swimmers. Way cool.

As for my own swim, I was within 10 seconds of my predicted time so I was happy. Our start times were based on predicted performance. I was pretty nervous to begin, given the environment and all the people watching, but I settled down within a few laps. I did err a bit on the conservative side, as I wanted to make sure I didn't have any spells of gulping/gasping/panicking/etc. I had none of that and finished strong (for me), and I'm excited for future swims.

Do flip turns.

The swim was the night before, so we started ready to go on the bike. T1 consisted of running through the chip timer, unracking bike and mounting at the other chip timer.

Practice jumping onto the bike.

My background is cycling, so I was hoping to go a bit better. Due to my lingering cold I had some troubles breathing and coughing, but I felt fine physically during the bike. Once I found my rythym and settled down, it was a nice ride. The weather was quite cold but I didn't feel it much in the heat of competition.

I went harder at the start of the ride since I was bunched with a lot of people and wanted to separate from them quickly. Good motivation to improve my swimming. Oh, and I was using a disk wheel cover for the first time. No hard data there, but it felt fast. FWIW

Settle into a steady pace sooner, which would allow me to sustain higher average wattage. And, of course, more training!

Too slow. But I had leg and arm warmers to remove or else my run would've suffered more.

Practice taking off the leg/arm warmers more quickly. Also, drink before T2 not during (duh).

I felt very sluggish coming off the bike. But I'm not sure whether to attribute that more to the uphill, being sick with a cold, or just to being undertrained. I suppose all of it. It felt rediculous taking such small steps going up the hill, but oh well.

I got passed many times and, honestly, it was impressive seeing stronger runners up close in action. I gave words of encouragement and got some in return. By the halfway point I started feeling good and went much faster on the downhill. I was thankful for the soft surface which allowed me to throw caution out the window and really pick up the pace. I've been battling ankle issues lately.

Definitely need more run miles/week, incorporating in some tempo. But I also need to keep listening to the body and continue to ramp it up smartly.

Bricks!

Pizza and beer and cough drops. Yummy.

Ok, that was after some stretching and hanging out talking with my wife, son and fellow competitors about the race.


Definitely this blasted cold I've had the past week, which has also kept me from any real training.


My first triathlon. I'm hooked.. but then I was already hooked before this race. =)