Kinetic Sprint, Race #4 - TriathlonSprint

This was horrible. I couldn't get comfortable until the second half of the swim and even then things weren't great. My breathing was bad and I'm guessing my heart rate was jacked up. Spent first half mostly swimming breast stroke. Swallowed a lot of water and had a difficult time getting used to swimming open water with others. At one point flipped onto back briefly to regain composure and catch my breath.

Get a better warm up before hand so body is prepared to go. With this experience under my belt I should be better prepared for what a group swim will be like and be able to better navigate and work through the crowds. In training I used a three stroke breath count but once I finally settled in to the swim I had to breath every second on the same side. Maybe due to fatigue from day before, nerves or just general differences of pool swimming vs open water group swimming. We'll see.

Muddy conditions led to a difficult clip in, had to reach down while cruising on bike multiple times to try and clear the cleat. Transition other wise was great. Top half of suit,cap/goggles off before reached bike, remainder of suit peeled right off. Shoes on, could have been slightly faster but weather conditions prevented good transition layout. Forgot to grab glasses and spare kit. Had helmet on aero bars and gu on elbow pad.

Area layout. Not coered by jacket. Shoes out and open. Maybe w/ bad weather it would be better to have shoes clipped onto peddles already. Should practice this in case.

For level of transition prep for first tri this was a great transition.

Bike felt good. The legs were probably a bit tired from Saturday but they churned out some decent power. Kept a relatively high cadence so as to not crush myself too quickly and be unable to finish strong. Aero position felt great and I passed a number of riders throughout the ride. Fresher legs should produce a better result next. Intensity during the ride was excellent!

Glasses and repair kit are important and I need to remember these in the future. Weight is not an issue to worry about here. 2/3rds to 3/4 of the way through had a slight bonk going up the final hill. Am hopeful I can avoid that in future outings.

Never thought to pull feet out before bike finish. Coasted to stop with both legs on one side and hopped off an ran smoothly into transition area. Shoes on was fine but tying laces with slightly numbed fingers was very difficult. Watched another guy come in after and leave before while I was tying my shoes.

Unsnap helmet before reaching rack location. Already have bike shoes removed. New lacing system for running shoes is very important for time savings. May also consider a gu before transition during final bit of bike for good measure but not too important.

Run started well for the first 100 yds or so, then the hill zapped my emotional energy a lot. Struggled in recovering from that. Would see guys coming up behind and try to convince self to hold them off and pick up my cadence but the legs wouldn't quite respond. General fatigue a big factor but there was there; more issues probably with mental fatigue here then physical. Pace was faster then I would have imagined but certainly far from what I am capable of.

More rest the day the before!

Huh? Bend over and catch my balance for a bit. Pasta and a pee.


Fatigue from previous days' activities. Mental and physical. Preparedness for a group open water swim.


Best tri I've ever done... 1st tri also but well run. No issues aside from rain.