I had my Tempo Trainer set for 1.20(CAD=50). This the highest I have ever placed in the swim. I ended up getting seeded perfectly. The person ahead of me never slowed me down and no one passed me. I had clean water the entire swim and never had any problems with getting a mouth full of water from the chop.

Nothing

We had a longer than usual run to the transition area. Everyone's actual swim time would have been from 20-30 seconds faster. I decided to not wear socks since this was a Sprint. I had a little harder time getting my shoes on but everything went pretty well. I ran with the bike to the line and jumped on while in motion. I got both shoes clipped in right away. Usually, I have at least one slip.

Ideally I would have had the end spot on the rack. That way I would have had something more secure to hang onto while putting on my shoes.

I wanted to keep my HR below 157 and keep my cadence between 95-100. I had one person pass me early on, but that was it. The actual ride was pretty uneventful other than the road conditions. The roads were fairly rough and you really had to pay attention to avoid any hazardous spots. On a few hills my HR got above 157, but other than that, I kept it right were I wanted.

Nothing

Since I wasn't wearing socks, I had to run a little more gingerly through the parking lot. There were a lot of pebbles there. I didn't realize my shoes would be so much harder to put on without socks. I one point I just had to tell myself to calm down and stop trying to force the shoes on.

After the race someone suggested using baby powder in the shoes. I will have to try that next time.

I had my Tempo Trainer set at 0.67(CAD=90). My plan was to keep my HR at 160 for the first half then just go as hard as I could for the second half. It took me a full mile to feel even remotely comfortable. My breathing was off, my strides felt really short, and I did not feel like I was going very fast. But, I figured I was doing OK since I was passing people and no one was passing me. The half way point was not marked so I decided to wait until the 2 mile mark to increase the pace. From mile 1 to 2, I started feeling much better about my breathing and stride. After the mile 2 marker, I started to increase the pace. It was easy to do because a lot of the last mile was slightly downhill. The last tenth I put it in full sprint mode. I was extremely surprised when I saw my run time. I thought I would be lucky to break 8 min/mile. This run ended up being my highest placing of any race.

Nothing

Gatorade, banana, cheese tortillini, and hanging out with other BTers.


I am very pleased with my results. I almost made the top 10% overall. I guess I could have pushed harder because I never felt like I was "dying" out there. However, I am not interested in pushing myself that hard. I think I am right were I should be considering my time in the sport. I really like coming up with a pre-race game plan and sticking to it. I just need more training and the times will drop.


I wish the bike ride would have been on better roads. Other than that, it was a well run event.