TRIBAL SPRINT TRIATHLON - TriathlonSprint

I am hoping that after this swim, I can upgrade my open water swim ability from 'deathly afraid' to merely 'painfully slow'. A subtle distinction, but an important one. I was comfortable in the water and never felt fear or panic. My technique, however, was lacking. I have made big speed improvements in the pool recently, but my concentration wasn't where it needed to be. I didn't have very good hip rotation and I wasn't pressing down with my chest as much as I need to (it takes a LOT of pressing to get these thighs up toward the surface of the water). Of course, compared to my previous struggles, these are minor things that will come more naturally with time. Since I am still back of the pack slow, I still am getting out of the water 5-10 minutes behind most of the pack. However, that is better than the 15-20 minutes behind I usually was this time last year. Overall, it was a comfortable, relaxed swim - just not as fast as I have trained.

Try to focus more on good technique. I think I was so relieved that I was comfortable in the water that I swam a little leisurely. Of course, my HR was a little higher than I like it to be for the swim, so keeping it under control may have been a good move. My sighting still needs a lot of improvement - I swim off to the right unless I sight frequently. That probably adds to the distance I travel in any swim. Being able to learn to swim straight would also be a plus.

This was a terrible transition, and I lost a lot of unnecessary time. There was a decent amount of path from the water to the transition area, and I was a little unbalanced from the swim. Being wobbly, I didn't try to run too fast. The wobbliness affected me even more when I reached my transition area. I couldn't stand on one foot very well to remove my wetsuit and put on my socks and shoes. I also tried to get some fluid and Sport Beans down before leaving with the bike. In the future, if I'm going to spend that much time there, I might as well bring a blanket and a picnic basket.

I think in the future I am just going to have to realize that I can't balance very well out of the water. Knowing this, I should just sit down on a towel to remove the wetsuit and get my shoes and socks on. Trying to do those things while attempting not to fall over is a big waste of time. I also should take the drink and Sport Beans after getting on the bike - it wouldn't make a big difference, but it would have helped.

The bike was (by far) the highlight of the day for me. I was familiar with the course, knew when the big uphills and downhills would come, and knew what gear I wanted to be in at all times. For the first time, I was able to pass some people confidently on uphills, which usually slow me down.

I did have an equipment issue that slowed me down: my aerobottle came loose about 4 miles in; I had to hold it in place until I found a place to fix it (I was going about 35 mph when I saw it was loose); After making the turn into the park entrance, I had to stop to re-secure it. That probably cost me at least a couple of minutes to stop, re-thread the velcro, and get back up to speed.

The rest of the bike course went very well. One guy did manage to pass me on an uphill, but I got back by him on the steep climb into T2. I finished in the top half of the field for the bike split, which really surprises me on a hilly course. I also finished second on the bike split for Clydesdales, so I did pretty well among similarly sized competitors. The one who was faster is someone I know from the gym - he recently did very well at Ironman AZ so it is kind of an honor to finish right behind him.

As I made the last climb into T2, I saw Chris. He had experienced some scary mechanical failures earlier in the bike, and was looking forward to the bike portion being over. We finished the bike together and went into transition.




Aside from making sure everything on the bike is completely secure, nothing. In the future, I am going to safety pin the velcro strap on my bottle so it can't come loose.

When we got into transition, it took us a little time to find our bags. I also knew what the run would bring (hills and rocks), so I wasn't in a real hurry to hit the trail before catching my breath and getting some water and more Sport Beans down. Chris and I shared some water and poured some over our heads as it was starting to get hot - then we made our way onto the trail.

Since this is a very challenging run for me (hilly and rocky), my goal was just to keep jogging without walking as much as possible. I saw last year that this run can turn into a death march fairly quickly if you let your HR get out of control. Chris and I kept the pace under control into the first aid station at the floating bridge - that is where things got interesting...

At the aid station, I drank a cup of water and decided to put some ice under my hat. The first attempt at doing this, I dropped the ice. I got it to work on the second try and Chris and I started moving. As we were starting to step off of the bridge onto the trail, I saw a snake crossing the trail. It was the back half of the snake, and yep, it had a rattle. Race or no race, in my mind, rattlesnakes have the right of way, so we stood back and waited for it to move across. Once we felt it was safe, we went by it on the trail and looked back. Some of the other runners thought to leave the trail and give more room away from the snake - that was a good idea and I wish I had thought of it instead of passing just a few feet away. I heard someone say that it was about four feet long, but I am not sure. If I hadn't dropped the first ice cube, I might have gotten to the trail a few seconds earlier and met it in the trail - who knows? All in all, the wildlife encounter probably cost us at least a couple of minutes. I think in the future, I am going to stop complaining about running into coyotes when I am training - there are far worse things.

After the aid station, Chris encouraged me to go on without him. I was feeling pretty good and wanted to get as far up the trail and away from the snake as fast as I could, so I went ahead alone - it had been great to have him there to keep me company while we were racing together.

For the rest of the run, I was able to keep my legs moving, albeit at a slow pace. I was happy that I was able to keep going even on the uphills - quite an improvement from last year.

As I crested the last hill, I knew it was a steady downhill into the finish area. I was happy to be coming into the finish line, but kind of disappointed that the race was almost over. I really enjoy this event.

As I approached the finish area, I saw Harry, CoraLee, Paulette, and Josh cheering. I told them that Chris would be coming right behind me. A little bit ahead, I saw Jenna with the camera. I waited until she snapped a picture, ran up to her and gave her a kiss as I ran by - she was a little startled since I usually don't do things like that during races, but I was having fun. I then turned the last corner and crossed the line.

Brought my snake bite emergency kit...

Packed my things, ate a banana and some pretzels, and socialized. They raffled off a bunch of things, and I won a pair of running shoes - apparently, it was my day.


Loose water bottles, snakes on the trail, and being a slow swimmer!


I loved everything about this race. I love the site, the course, the distances, and the organization. DCB and Tribe did a fantastic job. It was well organized last year, with a couple of logitical issues with being a point to point race. They fixed them this year by having the swim, T1, parking, and the finish at the same place and transporting the bikes and transition bags back to the start after the race.

I don't think I have ever had so much fun at a race. It was a beautiful day, a great race, and great company, at a place that is comfortable and familiar to me. As often as I train there, I almost felt like a host. I realized a couple of weeks ago that for every hour that I spend on a course, I train for about 20 hours. That made me realize how special race days are and how much work goes into them. They are rewards to be enjoyed and savored. I took that to heart for this race and enjoyed every minute - okay, I didn't enjoy the snake encounter, but everything else I did. Now I have a hiatus until starting back up again in Sept/Oct. - I need to be ready for Pumpkinman and the 1/2 ironman.