5430 Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I had a lot of problems at the start. Got bumped around pretty good and almost headed for the kayaks. I couldn't catch my breath and started to panic pretty bad. Sat up, found some open water and finally found my stroke. I really think I lost about 1-2 minutes in the panic mode. Once I found my rythm and got out of the crowd, I swam very well. Felt strong and finished still 3 minutes faster than I did 3 years ago. Other than the start, I am happy with this swim.

I need more experience in wave starts. I actually don't think I was bumped or hit as much as I thought. But even just a little bumping set off a panic attack. I feel very strong swimming with space, and there is no need to panic. Practice, Practice, Practice.

I got out of transition very quickly after a long run up from the beach. I took almost 1 minute off my time from 2 years ago.

Nothing.

Very crowded exit to the bike. This slowed me down a little. Also, as you leave, you immediately head uphill out of the res. This makes finding your form on the bike difficult. It took a while to find my legs. I was a little weak after the swim. Once I found my legs, I kicked it up and started passing people going up the highway.

Nothing, maybe push a little harder. I took another minute off my race from 2 years ago.

This again was a good transition. My age group was racked on the other side of the world from the exit and that added about 10-15 seconds to my time. I did forget to tighten my lace locks, but got that done right outside transition.

Tighten lace locks.

Anytime I can be sub 8 on the run is a good run. I started out and felt pretty dead. I just relaxed and found a pace I thought I could hold. This felt really slow. Suprisingly, I hit the first mile sign in 8 minutes (maybe a little less). Once I hit that point, I knew I could have a good time, so I picked it up a little. At this point I was running the flat section of the course and knew I could break 25 min if I kept pushing. Hit the turn around and felt great. Passed quite a few people and just continued to run smoothly within myself. Sprinted and passed 2 people right at the finish.

Not much. This is 2 weeks at sub 8 mile 5k. I've only done that maybe 2 times in just straight 5k races, so I am very happy with where my running is. Unfortunately there are many people who just run a lot faster. But for me this is good.

Legs were cramping, so I had some water and walked around, stretching quite a bit.


The swim hurt me. The panic attack really sapped my energy. Even though I felt the rest of the swim was good and I had plenty of energy to continue to swim.


Overall, I treated this like a long training day. I did race, but didn't push myself to the limit. I wanted to enjoy my race and other than the swim, my mission was successful. It was great to see all the BTr's and was happy we could do the balloon send-off and card for Stacie.

I will definitely do this race again sometime, and I will conquer the complexities of the group wave start swim. :)

This was a great father's day event for me. My wife and daughter and In-Laws got to come see me race and all had a good time.