Heart O' Dixie Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

26 minutes passed from the time the first runner hit the water to the time I got to go. I had plenty of time to think about the swim. Water was muddy and warm (this was expected because it was a small lake). The course took us over some rotten trees that I had to adjust to keep from bumping with my arms or kicking with my legs. I breath right and had trouble spotting the buoys to the left. A large concrete drop off at the end of the boat ramp is an easy way to stub a toe or bang a shin.

Work on spotting and swimming straighter.

Because we registered late, my husband and I got the transition area farthest from the exit of the swim and exit to the bike. I didn't transition fast because I was worried about my husband who I expected to finish the swim before me. He was not out of the water yet when I got to my stuff in T1. I was scanning the water and the buoys. Turns out I just beat him (HA!!!)

Nothing, I enjoyed taking my time :)

I don't have a lot of miles on the bike. My time and pace could improve with more time on the bike.

Power down the hills more.

Again, our bike rack was far from the entrance/exit of the transition. I had to to quite a bit of jogging/walking with my bike.

My goal was to run 4 minutes, walk 1. I was so tired after the ride and it was so hot that I was not able to do this. I talked myself into walking up the hills and running down them. (did I mention it was hilly???) 4 aid stations (I think). Each well stocked with Powerade, water and sometimes ice and cold towels and always lots of encouragement. All of the runners still on the course struggled with the heat when the sun finally came out from behind the clouds. The road was slanted to the left causing my left leg to cramp on my outer shin??? Traffic on the ride was particularly bad, often forcing runners to the rocky shoulder. The course finished in the county fair grounds (a really interesting sight) and a lap on the clay horse track.

Bricks, bricks, bricks. Never underestimate how hard it is to run when you're fresh off a bike. And heat and hills. I train early morning. Midday runs would have better prepared me for Mississippi July heat.

Warm down??? I made it across the finish, got a cold towel, ice water, and sat down.


Heat and hills.


My husband and I though prerace instruction was lacking. 1) there was no instruction on how we were to gather our bikes from the T2 - 27.5 miles from the start, 7 miles from the finish (we had to rely on other racers who guessed how this was supposed to be done), 2) no official instruction on basic race procedures of any kind. We waited until after the awards ceremony to be bused back to the start where our T1 things were thrown into boxes and pushed aside (image 400 pairs of goggles in a pile!) Then, we had to get back in the car, drive 27.5 miles back to T2 and get our bikes.

All in all, the race was fun. A neat experience. The volunteers were great. I wasn't trained for a race like this and my times reflected it. My husband and I decided to race HOD the week before. I guess we couldn't have expected anything different.