Toyota US Open Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Started off feeling pretty good - start was time trial, 4 swimmers every 10 seconds - made for a very smooth start. Started off second out of the four swimmers I was with. Didn't feel like I was pushing myself, and the only one from my group ahead of me had a west suit (the rest of us didn't) Did catch some swimmers and got bogged down a little. Ok to the first turn, missed the second turn and got called back by a kayak. Heading east on the way back I totally lost my sighting ability - trying to spot orange buoys against a bright orange sun just over the horizon with slightly fogged goggles. Continued to get off course, water support had to steer me back a few times. Stroke stayed ok, but had to stop multiple times to figure out exactly where I was on the course.

Hmm...maybe need to get a better set of goggles that won't fog. Need to actually train in open water to figure out navigating better. Should probably switch to bilateral breathing - may help my sighting ability as well as be more efficient. Need to get some swim lessons to improve my stroke. Sun position and buoy color may have been difficult, but it obviously didn't hinder others.

Age group 6/31. Slowed by very rough pavement - sore even on my alligator calluses! Found my bike quickly, did not feel like I was fast, but time was ok. Took a few extra seconds to make sure my bag was transported to the finish in one piece. A little slow to get bike and into shoes.

Not much - need to practice getting my feet into the bike shoes more quickly. Overall pretty happy with the time compared to rest in my age group.

Really felt like I was lagging at the beginning - had a hard time in the park. I expected the course to be a lot more flat - not really sure that it had a lot of hills but it seemed like it at the time. Lost focus in mid-section and caught myself not pushing as hard as I should have. Had a rental bike (sparkly purple, no less) - nice bike, but I wasn't as comfortable with it as with my own. Also didn't have a bike computer, so found it hard to know how fast/hard I was pushing. Very happy with overall time - about 10 minutes faster than my best training session.

Not sure...really did much better than I thought I was going to. Would consider bringing my own bike next time, although I think the rental was supposed to be an upgrade over my own and may have partially contributed to the time.

26/31 in age group. Not sure what happened here. Dismount line snuck up on me - only had time to get one foot out of my bike shoes before hitting the line. Felt really slow getting my bike helmet/gloves off and shoes/race belt on. Was ready to experiment with a no-tie lace system, but I broke it while trying to assemble it the night before, so did have to actually tie my shoes. Did take a few seconds to eat a Hammer gel and swig from my water bottle before heading out.

Move with a bit more alacrity....get a better lace system....eat/drink on the run.

Holy crap!! I set a new PR for 5k!! I've never run below 7 min miles before even (although I just barely did here) One of my shoes came untied about 3/4 mile in, so had to stop and re-tie. My right shoe also felt a bit uncomfortable - I thought maybe I had tied the laces too tight during my lace debacle the night before (see T2 comments). After the race when I took my shoes off to put on my Chacos, I found a Bic pen (without the cap) lodged along the lateral side of my right shoe. I have no idea how it got there or why it didn't bother me more. I saved it just in case its a good luck charm. Run felt very good - was running hard, but felt like I had a bit more in reserve.

I suppose I would try to run without a pen inside my shoe. Buy some Yankz or double knot my laces.

Light stretching, drank some sports drink, banana and chocolate chip cookie.


Mostly my poor swim time. Shaving a few minutes off my swim would have put me close to medal contention for my age group. I was disappointed with it given that in training in the pool I could do that distance in 17 minutes. I was very happy with the bike - room for improvement, but better than in my first tri. T2 needs to get faster.


Very well organized race - very happy with how well the point to point worked out. I was worried my equipment left at T1 would be lost forever, but race organizers did a very good job.