Tri for Life - TriathlonSprint

Since it was a pool swim, I've only practiced in the pool. I was not prepared for the what appeared to be a 40 person orgy in the pool. People were passing in the middle of the lane (but from both directions). Half the people made uneducated guesses at their swim time.

I would focus more on my swimming while I was swimming. The chaos in the pool distracted me and I felt that I was not paying attention to my form or breathing.

It was chilly in the morning so I elected to put on my mountain biking gloves that are strapless. Bad idea! I must have wasted 30 seconds putting those bloody things on.

Use different gloves

I raced on a hardtail mountain bike with slicks and knew I couldn't compete with road/tri bikes in the fast sections so I tried to be as quick as possible in the slower sections. I passed a lot of faster bikes in the uphills and exits from turns as fast as possible as every bit of speed helped.

Buy a road/tri bike, HR monitor, and bike computer. I didn't know what my HR was nor how fast I was going. I found a pace that I was comfortable with and knew wouldn't kill my legs for the run. The HR monitor and bike computer would help me maximize my speed without destroying the legs.

I put on biking shorts over my jammers in T1 because I felt the chamois would help with the ride. The shorts look just like my jammers and I took 5 steps from my transition area until I realized that I was still wearing my shorts. I quickly turned around around and took them off. Speed laces saved a lot of time.

Buy a balloon and tie it to the bike rack by my bike. I unknowingly ran into the wrong row and the bike beside mine fell over onto my stuff. I was in a good mood so I took time to straighten it up for them.

Legs felt good at the start, which leaves me to believe that I left some time out on the bike section. My stomach was a little tight from the gatorade I drank while biking. I felt great at the halfway point, but was unsure when I should start my final kick as I did not want to run out of gas prior to the finish.

Start my kick sooner and go for broke!

Walked around and drank some water/Gatorade.


Swim - more time in the pool. In January I couldn't even swim 50 meters. I need to work on my form, focus, and endurance in the pool.

Bike - more time on the bike. I've been mountain biking for years, but this was my first road race. I didn't know what kind of pace I could maintain for 16 miles, nor did I know what my pace was. Experience will teach me how much harder I can push.

Run - figure out how long I can run flat out before exhausting myself and learn what different paces feel like. I had too much energy left when I crossed the finish line

Misc - A road bike would help drop some of my time and alleviate the lower back pain I had from leaning forward during the down hill sections. Practicing transition while fatigued might help too.


This was my first ever Tri and I'm glad its under my belt. I finished MOP, had fun, and understand where I can improve. Now I just need to do it all over again.