Falmouth Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I was really happy with how my swim went - much faster than I thought. I had also planned to do the whole thing breast stroke, which I was nervous about, but it turned out to be my strongest event. This was definitely the most mentally challenging piece - there was a lot of kicking in the head going on. I moved to the outside of the wave before we started, which was helpful in avoiding a lot of feet, even though it added a little distance.

Remember my skills better from the beginning - I had to remind myself a few minutes in to swim the way I really knew. I think I started in survival mode.

This was a difficult transition. In all honesty, the transition was not really my focus, and I was probably more worried about being comfortable for the swim then being fast.

Pay more attention and be better prepared.

I was pretty pleased by how I did this first time out, but I think I could have worked harder. It was difficult to figure out how much to pace myself so that I would be in good shape for the run, my weakest event.

Get bike shoes! And do more brick workouts with the bike/run transition.

I didn't change my shoes, which made this transition faster, but I was still focused on preserving energy for my run, so the transition was much slower than it could have been given that all I really needed to do was rack my bike and get my helmet off.

Move faster. Also, I had jelly beans on hand in case of low blood sugar, and it turned out I really did need them. But running while eating jelly beans is a damned stupid combination. Better to go with GU, even if it IS disgusting.

This was the event where I could really tell how many people got into doing tris from a running background. I felt very slow, and bargained with myself the whole way through to keep running. That said, I'm happy that I never slowed down, and my pace, despite what I thought, turned out to be my natural pace even when I haven't done a swim and bike ride beforehand.

My training plan should have been much more running-focused. I would like to get up to a comfortable 5 miles, and I think more hill workouts and speed workouts would probably give me a jump-start.

I was so excited that I finished that I completely forgot everything I knew and barely even stretched. Stupid.


More and more effective running training, and more road biking during my training (as opposed to the bike trainer at the gym), which would have improved my turning and cornering and would have helped me pedal harder through the downhills.
I think more caffiene would have helped, too.


This was a great first-time race. They were very well-organized, which helped me focus on the race, not the logistics. I had a great time - and am already signed up for Time Out's next triathlon, Hyannis Sprint 2, in September.