My Way or the Tri Way - TriathlonSprint

Actual in-water time 15:09.

Everyone started up near the transition area and had to run down to the water. I got stuck towards the back of the group but didn't worry about it as I didn't want to get run over on the way down to the water. Had to pee - and it not being an in-water start became a problem, as it took me 3/4 of the swim to finally get myself to be able to go while swimming. I tried swimming slow, not kicking, breaststroking, etc. but I wound up just wasting time. Finally was able to get some relief and then cranked up the pace hard to try to make up some time in the last part of the swim. Oh well - other than that I really enjoyed the swim and had fun out there in the water.

Maybe just stop once I got into the water and go. I wanted to really hammer the swim but if I didn't take care of business, the run and bike would've been rather uncomfortable...

Swim - run transition.

Went pretty well - got the wetsuit off without major problems, then put on socks, shoes, sunglasses, race belt, and visor. Stuck a Hammer gel in my pocket (though I didn't eat it til I was on the bike later). Got a sip of water out of a water bottle I had in transition. Had to run to the opposite corner to the "Out."

Not much.

Legs were pretty beat and I was pretty tired by this point. Spun easy out of transition and then hit the downhill out of the Rez pretty hard. Ate the Hammer gel around mile 3.5 (first time I ever ate a gel during a race - normally I eat Shot Bloks but today I didn't feel like it. I had eaten gels during training before so I knew my stomach would be cool with it). Drank plenty of water throughout - I was definitely okay with hydration in this race. Lots of rolling hills on this course. I expected that, but the NUMBER of hills caught me a little by surprise. Road could've been a little smoother, too - in some spots I felt like my tires were getting eaten alive. Anyway, hammered the downhills and spun easier on the uphills for the first half. Didn't realize I had a tailwind on the out til I turned around and was hit with wind head-on. Made the second half of the ride a little tougher - it was already tough enough, given the hills and the fact that my legs were pretty much toast at this point. Still, figured I may as well go for broke since I didn't have to run afterwards, and continued hammering the downhills and hitting the uphills harder than usual. Passed a few people coming back into the Rez. Hit the transition area again, racked my bike, changed back into my running shoes and visor (since there was a bit of a downhill run to the finish, too rough for no shoes and didn't want to tear up or slip in my bike shoes), and then hauled @ss to the finish.

Enh, again, given that the Peak was just last week and the bike was last in this race, I gave it all I had. Wish I had a better bike and better bike engine, but so it goes.

Run - bike transition.

Pretty uneventful. Swapped shoes & headwear (visor for helmet), realized I had forgotten to reset my bike computer (duh!) so took a second to do that, then ran with my bike back to the opposite corner to the "Out."

Reset the darn computer BEFORE the race.

This is where the Dip & Dash experience came in handy. Felt comfortable and got my breathing and heart rate quickly under control out of transition. Felt pretty good through the first aid station (got water) and to mile 1. Got Gatorade at the second aid station. Legs started to feel tired just before the turn around at mile 2. I expected this, but was still hoping they might feel okay. Brought the pace down another notch and walked through the next 2 aid stations (got water at each). It was also already beginning to get warm in the blazing sun with no shade and little air moving. Glad I got the run over with second! Was definitely HOT later when most were running. Picked up the pace a tad after the last hill and up into transition.

Enh, given I just did the Peak last weekend and knowing I had to save my legs a bit for the bike, that was the best I had going today.

Walked back to the transition area to get my camera, then waited for Travis to finish his duathlon. More walking. Enjoyed the post-race food. Tried to get a massage but we were too late to get our names on the list.


Broken record...just coming off the Peak last week, I didn't have any big expectations for this race. Also, given the format (the running swim start, placement of the "In" and "Out" in transition, and the fact that I chose the swim-run-bike option), a PR wouldn't really be possible anyhow, so I just wanted to have fun and I did. Next year, I just might try Swim-Run-Swim!


This is a fun race. On the smaller side, which was a nice change after the Peak. Got coupons for free Crocs, which made this race a good value for the price. Definitely well-organized. Assigned bike racks in the transition area would have been nice - though we got there early enough to get good spots, lots of people later crammed themselves into our racks despite there being more space elsewhere. Someone said it was b/c they were told to move after they got set up (to make room for the challenged athlete(s)), so maybe that's an area of opportunity for the race director, but a little common sense and respect on the part of those who had to move would have been nice too.