Iron Girl Columbia Women's Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

The swim was much better than I was expecting after the practice run on August 1. At the practice, the water smelled horrible and there was SO much seaweed- I was practically strangled by it. The actual race day was fine- the water felt a little colder than the 84 degrees it was announced to be, but felt fine once we got started. My age group had been split into two groups based on letter of the alphabet and my group (the second group) seemed much smaller than the other groups, which was good because I didn't feel that crowded at all, even from the get-go.

I was pleasantly surprised by my performance in the swim, as I wasn't expecting to finish in less than 25 minutes, but it was my weakest leg, finishing 568th whereas in the bike I was 38th and in the run I was 13th. I need to take some masters swim lessons this winter to try to improve my swimming.

The run from the swim exit to the transition area seemed to take forever, and my bike was all the way at the back near the bike exit so it took me a while to even get to my bike.

I probably could have spent less time wiping my feet off (there really wasn't much to wipe) but other than that I don't know how I could have sped up the transition- I ran from the swim to my bike so I took as little time as possible there.

I had ridden the race course twice so I knew what to expect in terms of hills. They had recently repaved part of the course so there were some bumps where the new pavement hit the old pavement, but in general it was in great shape.

Nothing- had a great ride.

My bike was racked in the back of the pack, which meant running into the transition area, turning left and going all the way back to near the bike exit, racking my bike and then doubling back to run out for the run course. That definitely took some time- everyone in my age group had slow T2 times compared to the rest of the field (we were all in the same bike rack area). I also haven't mastered the art of getting into or out of my shoes while they are still clipped into the bike or the flying dismount so that probably slowed me a little.

Learn to dismount with shoes still on the bike or flying dismount. Hope for a better bike rack location! :)

I wasn't worried about the run- this is my strong area. I probably could have pushed it a little more but was just happy to be in my comfort zone at last!

Nothing.

Met my parents, sister, husband and three kids and walked around until we found the food/water. Only minor complaint I had in an otherwise impressively organized race was that there wasn't any water at the finish line- my mother gave me her bottle she had brought and I couldn't find any for myself until someone pointed me towards the top of the hill next to the finish line.


Just the fact it was my first triathlon and I am still working out the specifics of transitions. Once I get more experience hopefully I'll be more comfortable in transition. Also, need to work on my swimming- I was 568th out of the water, but 38th on the bike and 13th on the run, finishing 46th overall. Definitely need to take some masters swim lessons this winter!!


This was an exceptionally well-organized race with such a great atmosphere with inspiring and supportive women (and their families!) all around. I will definitely do it again next year.