Ellington Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Swim went well. I have put in some hours since my first race and have been out swimming this course several times in preparation. There was some bumping and kicking around the buoys but nothing too bad. I got out of the water in what I perceive was about the middle of my wave, there seemed to be an equal number ahead of me as there was behind.

Need to find some new goggles. The once I have now seem a little big and don't like to fit tightly around my right eye socket, causing me to stop and empty it out periodically. I could not just swim through it as I wear contact lenses and would be in a world of trouble later on the bike without my vision.

As far as swimming speed, just over 1 minute separated my 36th ranking from the number 1 rank. Every second counts, but overall I was happy with my speed. Would not mind picking up a few seconds here, but at the sprint distance, races are certainly not won or lost in the water.

ranked 20th here.

Quick jog up beach and into parking lot, which was serving as transition area. I had a rack near the exit. which helped my departure. Much easier running around in transition area without a bike to push Changed quickly and got the hell out of there. Rules stated racers could not mount until exiting the gate to the parking lot and there was a snarl of racers here. I ran through the crowd pushing my bike and did a running mount once clear of the group and about 10 yards past. I had put my shoes on in the transition area and was free of the pack immediately and clipped in, leaving the madness behind.


Not much. I feel I am quick getting into my velcro bike shoes and can run well enough in them that I don't think I would gain anything doing the pre-clipped in riding while putting on shoes trick. Wearing a tank top I can get into it quickly, even when wet. The only place I could imagine saving time is by running harder in and out of the transition area, which I will try to do in the future if I am not feeling dizzy from the swim.

Having practiced the course quite a bit, I knew when to shift to what gear, when to fuel, when I could push a little harder, and when I could rest. Having the traffic control on the course was great, allowing racers to enter intersections at speed without fear of vehicular traffic.

It is a fun but tough sprint distance course with a bit of vertical to separate those who train on hills and those who do not. While Minor Hill is tough, in training and racing I find the steady set up uphills on Route 140 leading into that part of the course more challenging. There is something demoralizing about one climb after another with only false flats to recover on.

I don't know how much more I could squeeze out of my old steed here. I beat my best practice time on the course (17.9 MPH practice vs 18.9 MPH racing), shifted and pedaled how I wanted to, and felt strong. I have been working on increasing overall cadence to try to utilize more of an endurance effort as opposed to a muscular strength effort, and am happy with the resulting average speeds and perceived exertion.

Having one other race under my belt I knew I could push hard at this distance on the bike and not bonk on the run.

ranked 31st.

Pretty smooth transition, jogged with bike to rack, ditched helmet, slipped out of bike shoes and into runners and was gone. Took one longing look at water bottle on bike, decided not to waste the time, and took off.

Not much, I was happy.

I run a lot of hills in training, often not by choice because of the geography of where I live, so I was feeling prepared. I would have been happier with a shorter time, however. Possible opportunities would be on the flat beginning and possibly pushing a bit more uphill, knowing I had a nice down hill to recover on.

When I hit the 3 mile landmark I had sighted earlier I kicked for the last 0.4 miles. I was working hard but found a sprint pace for the last 100 yards or so. There was another racer about 50 yards ahead that I labeled as my last proposed "victim" of the day, and I set out to pass him/her. I say him/her, because whoever it was had more left than me, and I did not catch them.

I'm not going to lie, it was hot and humid and after a very high effort bike and big kick at the end of my run, I was planning on barfing once I got out of the finish area.

Like any other part of racing, it would always be nice to go faster. Posting a sub 8 minute mile average on such a hilly course was OK, but I would like to break into the sub 7 minute area at this distance, and will use this as a focus point for future training.

Did not puke after all. Instead stripped off shirt and shoes and did a bee-line for the cool water. Got out and got a bottled water and cheered on the other races while talking to my family.


Swimming I expect to continue to improve with pool and lake time. Focusing on technique and staying steady is key.

On the bike I will continue to train hard and put in my time on both the hills and the flats. I can honestly say that I raced my own race and paid closer attention to my goal cadence and speed than to other racers. I am also looking forward to upgrading my bike and have since purchased and been fitted for a tri-specific ride that may have sadly put my old steel steed out to pasture.

The run is, and likely always will be, a work in progress. More long miles relate to a better run fitness, and it became evident on my .4 mile kick at the end that the track work is beginning to pay dividends.


I would have liked to see gatorade/bananas out for the racers pre-race. Volunteers were quite numerous, enthusiastic, and much appreciated. As I said, this is a fun and challenging sprint course, forcing you to punish your body at times knowing that there is a chance for recovery once you get to the top of the next hill. I plan to return next year.