The Day at the Beach Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Don't know what happened, I'm usually very comfortable out there. Got a good start, wasn't overrun by anyone, didn't freak out with the number of bodies hitting the water. But it was cold. And I had too much caffeine. 4 Extra Strength Tylenol couldn't have been helping either.

First time jitters, whatever ... I couldn't swim. Had a real hard time catching my breath, and breast stroked after the first turn. Relaxed a bit, swam about half way, kept going with a mixture of free and breast strokes. Not good.

Happy to make it to the beach because I wasn't sure if I was going to. Walked a bit to catch my breath, then jogged up to T1.

Drink less coffee, relax, just find my groove.

Long-ish run in from the beach, but not too bad. Suit came off fine, sat down to dry my feet, got my socks and shoes on without problem. Put on a cycling jersey over my tri-suit, and glad I did because it was a bit chilly. Race belt on, helmet and glasses on, and a jog through T1 to the bike start.

Maybe move faster, but I was in no hurry. Still catching my breath and trying to recover after a crappy swim.

Fun ride. Very flat, but narrow. Not real conducive to passing, especially heading south. Got bumped outside the cones once while passing and the people in front of my were edging to the left. Got yelled at, but I only missed one cone and I'm thankful for not getting the DQ.

The second turn (on the south end) is kind of technical, and I could see that it might cause problems. I thought it was fun :)

Saw one crash that was pretty bad, but it was cleared by my next time around. Fun group out there on the bikes, and I found a couple of guys to "push" with. Passed a lot of people, lapped a couple, and felt good overall.

Just to add, after a bad swim, the bike really helped me calm down and actually enjoy myself! :)

Could have gone a lot faster. I had read that the northbound part of the course was a "false flat", so I think I paced a bit too much in anticipation of a climb. Never happened. Not a challenging course, and I should have ripped it up harder.

No problems. Caught my breath and headed out slowly.

Nothing to change ... I don't think.

I went into this knowing that the run was not my strength, and I was still worried about my left leg. My initial goal--before hurting myself playing soccer--was to run a 10 minute mile pace. Do that, and I consider this a major victory for someone who really, really doesn't like to run!

Took off slow, knowing that speed would come. Legs felt wobbly after the bike, but no soreness from the left quad. Good sign.

Really, I just took my time. About a quarter mile in, I really, really had to go to the bathroom, but I knew that if I stopped, I would have a real hard time getting started again. Luckily, there are no pit stops along the way ... at least none that I saw.

Just kept at it, didn't try to sprint or outdo myself by trying to pace faster runners and kept the pier in sight. Once I saw the people lined up and cheering everyone on, I knew I'd made it ... only to find the sick joke of having to turn onto the beach for the last 20 meters or so and having to run through the sand. I though, you've got to be kidding me! :)

Saw the wife and two kids along the ropes and they were cheering me on, and I was so proud to have them there! Great feeling!!!

Run felt really slow, but apparently I did a 9+ minute mile ... MAJOR VICTORY!

Train harder (did I mention that I suck at running?), drink less coffee.

Walk back to hotel.


Where do I begin? Bum leg, too much coffee, not enough sleep ... good time had, though.


I rated this "Best", because it's my one and only. They really went out of their way to stress that this was a beginner's race, and that helped a lot. Good, easy swim. Flat bike course, though somewhat technical. Straight run. Didn't stick around for post race activities, but it didn't look like much was going on other than a few tents on the beach. A shower and more coffee sounded better :)