St. Patrick's Day Sprint Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I know that I could have swam faster, but I wanted to take everything a lot easier this first triathlon so that I could be sure that I finished. Next triathlon, I'll push myself a LOT bit more.

I would kick harder, stretch more, and pull more efficiently. I was too busy telling myself to be steady instead of racing. However, I'm still pretty proud of myself. It was an Olympic size pool and I don't think I stopped at any wall to take a breath, though I did get caught trying to snake under the lane lines.

HORRIBLE. I couldn't get my socks on, and I wasted so much time trying to tie my bandana on my head so that I could fit my helmet on. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I wasted so much time that people who were behind me out of the pool were well ahead of me before I even got my bike off the rack.

I would reorder my transition area, and calm down a bit more. I wouldn't sit to put on my socks, nor would I put on gloves. All of that wasted precious moments---I'd learn how to run with my bike and do it.

They messed up my timing on the Chip Thing, but I know I wasted another several minutes in transition, which I will explain in the T2 section.

I wouldn't stop riding until I got through the dismount line; for some reason, I was confused where I needed to get off. Oh well, precious seconds wasted. I need to practice riding outside more so that I can become a stronger hill rider and corner turner...I'm sure it will come in time.

It all started when I got off my bike before the dismount line due to confusion, and then it went downhill. I couldn't get my running shoes on. I couldn't rack my bike without some effort. I wasted at least 1 minute trying to find and put on my race belt--it was weird, I thought I set up transition well. Last, I couldn't get my running shoes on; I don't know what happened here---I thought my first transition was bad, but this was worse. If they had accurately timed it, I'm sure it would be upwards of 3 minutes and maybe even 4 :-(

EVERYTHING!

Definitely wasn't my finest run performance, but I'm actually proud of myself. I kept saying slow and steady instead of pushing myself to go harder, but I maintained the same pace through the entire race. I FINISHED STRONG with a leg clap to boot! (I hope the photographer took that picture)

I wouldn't carry my cell phone and camera in my pockets - they were definitely weighing me down. I would push myself to go faster, because I really wasn't tired at the end of it all...though I did sleep when I got home.

I walked for a bit. Spoke with folks I'd met during the race. Went home and showered. Briefly stretched. Slept. Went to BW3s and pigged out.


My mind, I kept telling myself it was my first triathlon so I shouldn't push just so that I could finish strong. Now, I am sure that I could have pushed myself in all three legs of the race and still finished strong. I am happy with my results, and it's a PR so I'm looking forward to improving on all aspects of the race come APRIL/MAY, whenever I next decide to race.

I'm going to practice every leg of race (swimming, cycling, running) so that the next time around I'll have confidence enough to push myself.


I loved the pancakes, but it was too cold to stick around for much else. I was shivering badly :(. I'm happy with the Event and hope that I get to do it again next year, albeit prepared for the awful weather and with more training. I also would love to train with a group next time---I think I did well for having self-trained, but I want to see how I do if I train with others.