Carmel Sprint Triathlon (formerly Splash, Flash & Dash) - TriathlonSprint

I just realized that I was included with the 40-44 age group, though I am 39. I have always looked older than my age, though... Not sure what happened there.

My goal was a sub 10min swim and I would have reached it, if not for sea of humanity that prevented me from finding any room to pass, and then we were bunched up with 5 or 6 of our closest, nearly naked friends trying to make the turns. I swam up on someone on every lap but could not seem to get room to get around them. Maybe that is normal with this type of swim, I'll have to get used to swimming in traffic. I am sure some/most of that is on me.

Train all the way up to the event would be a good start. Then, pass, even if I have to move people out of the way. Maybe move up into a slightly faster group, though I don't want to be the slow guy bogging down the people behind me.

Horrible first attempt at T1. Someone was exactly where my bag was, so I moved to the other side of the rack. Pulled out towel to stand on and let feet dry a little. Heard and read to make sure you get your helmet on and clipped so you don't forget and get penalized. However, I learned that if you are putting on a shirt, perhaps do that first, especially if your helmet will not fit through the head opening. Shirt back off, helmet back off, shirt on. Also, I mistakenly chose a long sleeved shirt which was very hard to get on while wet. Helmet back on. Knoced back a carb gel while drying feet and putting on socks/shoes. Tried to put on sunglasses (for eye protection more than shading), but they immediately fogged up, so I went without. Bike off rack and running to Bike Out. Thanks to everyone who has written about remembering a trash bag to keep everything dry when raining. I did and it worked.

Choose a looser fitting, sleeveless shirt and put it on before the helmet. Maybe even invest in a Tri suit. I have caged pedals on the bike, so I had to lace put on and tie my running shoes. Probably need the quick-lace shoe laces. Probably could have saved the carb gel for the bike, but with the wet surface and being new, I wanted to concentrate on staying upright. I easily could and will cut my time in half.

Goal was a 30min bike, and given the conditions, I was not too upset with my time, nearly 18mph. I do not have on-board technology to tell me speed, cadence, etc. Maybe for next time. I passed around 20 people and was passed by 4 or 5, no doubt only because they had better equipment...

Saw one guy on a fat tire bike face plant into the grassy median for no apparent reason, he just veered over two lanes full speed, hit the curb and down he went. To his credit, he was back up and moving again pretty quickly.

One thing that effected me was that sometime during mile 7, I noticed one of my right shoestring loops bouncing around dangerously close to the chainring. I did not stop to retie it, but I am sure I unconsciously slowed down a little because I was watching it constantly and not the road. Then it came untied completely, which added to my already escalating stress level. It eventually flipped over in front of the pedal and did not ever get caught. On the last two miles, encountered a lot of bike traffic from the kids event.

Since I will not be changing pedals soon (the bike was a borrowed Trek 1200 - a better bike than its rider), I will have to lace my shoes a little tighter or use the quick-laces to eliminate the chance of them becoming tangled, or even threatening it. Also, I was concentrating on riding so much, I completely forgot to drink the water and Gatorade I was carrying. Need to train more so hit the 20mph goal.

Just as I arrived at my rack location, some woman put her bike exactly where mine should go. I purposly chose the end of one of the racks and since there were already bikes on my rack, I had to put my bike somewhere else, no doubt in someone else's way. Being a newbie, I did not feel confident that it was appropriate to tell her to put hers where it should go, or tell her to put it somewhere that definitely would not be appropriate...

Helmet off, hat on, bike racked, off and running.

Defend my rack spot. We were only told 25 times to remember your rack position and put your bike back there.

My goal was a sub 30min run, so I was very happy. However, it was the beginning of the run that I realized I did not remember to drink during the bike. I had to walk some of the first half mile or so, then I was able to pick it up and run. Splits were 9:59, 10:07, and 8:47, plus the extra 10th. I felt better after the aid station (1.5mi), where I downed some water and Poweraid. I did start to get a cramp in my right quad around 2.5 mi, but I knew that was directly related to poor fuel intake. Leg cramps hammered me miles 17-26 of last fall's Indianapolis Marathon, so it was a familiar feeling, though it did not get bad - just a slight twitch a few times. Fuel! Fuel! Fuel!

Remember to fuel during the bike. That's only mentioned in every tri article you read anywhere and yet somehow I forgot. I am thankful that it did not hamper me any more than it did.

Eating, stretching, gathering up my stuff and walking two blocks back to the truck, then two blocks back to the post-race festivities, namely the food. My level hunger is always inversely proportional to the cost of the food.


Poor training for the last month or so leading up to the race was a definite problem. I am glad I was using an Oly training plan because I was working out double what I would have been on a Sprint plan. I think in the end, the momentum I had built up saved me from having a miserable time and possibly getting injured.


The best tri I have ever done (also the first!)! They started the awards announcements way early, so I was a little upset that I was not there to hear my name not get called. Volunteers were numerous and great, except for the one that busted me "trying" to turn up the side street with the kids. Somehow she knew I was an adult!?! and made me run the rest of the adult course. I even crouched down a little to look shorter. Its like she was FBI or something...

Overall very happy and would like to do another one soon. The next will likely have an OWS, so that will be something I have to do BEFORE the race, but I will train better leading up to it. Goal is to do another Sprint or two (or more?) and finish the summer with the Oly version of the TriIndy in August. To be continued...