Sprint Triathlon Race Report

[Over50Newbie]

Hi Everyone,

About 6 weeks ago, I posted and asked advice about how to get a little faster on my bike for a sprint triathlon that was this morning.

I would like to thank all of you who responded. I took all of your advice and here is my race report.

I am new at triathlons (and also new to biking), but this was actually the second time that I did this event. My very first triathlon was this same event last year. It was a 250 yard pool swim (10 lengths), a hilly 9.3 mile bike ride, and a 3.2 mile run.

So anyway, here is the report...

I bettered my time from last year by 7 minutes!!!

Final time: 1:36:13 minutes

My goal was to do it in less than 1:30, so I was close, but didn't quite make it.

But I am still very happy with my results.

So, here is the race report:

First of all, the weather was miserable. 50 degrees with steady drizzle and/or rain the whole time, with a few downpours thrown in for good measure. REALLY WET AND COLD!

But that didn't bother me at all. I felt fine throughout the whole thing. Many other people who were there said that the weather was a factor for them, but I was okay with it.

Now for the swim:

I have found that I am definitely a faster swimmer this year than last year. The only problem is that I didn't put down a faster swimming time, so I was seeded in too slow of a group for me. I caught everybody by the 5th length, and then I couldn't pass them. So for the last five lengths, I had to do breaststroke. I know that if I had been seeded properly, my swim time would have probably been at least a minute faster! But I still beat my swimming time by 4 seconds over last year.

Last year's swim time: 5:10
This year's swim time: 5:06

So the lesson here is to seed myself in a faster group next time.

The Bike:

I felt great on the bike and really pushed myself. My average speed was 13 mph, which is really fast for me! I improved my time on this section by about 6 1/2 minutes. This time also included the time for Transition 1. They don't break out your transition times in this particular race, so I don't know how much of this time was for T1, but my guess would be somewhere around 3-4 minutes. That makes my bike time even better. This is the section where I could feel all of my training take effect.

Last year's biking time: 51:30
This year's biking time: 44:56

The Run:

Boy, do I hate to run. It felt absolutely horrible! Maybe I pushed too hard on the bike, but the run really sucked. Maybe I just need to get fitter, so that I don't feel so bad while running, but I can tell you that there was nothing fun about it today! My legs felt like lead, and my heart rate was through the roof - high 170's - low 180's. I ran the whole 3.2 miles completely in my anearobic zone. The good news is that I was 24 seconds faster than last time. Once again, this section included Transition 2, so I'm not exactly sure how fast my run time was.

Last year's run time: 46:34
This year's run time: 46:10

Last year's overall time: 1:43:15
This year's overall time: 1:36:13

And I improved my time in EVERY section from last year - the swim, the bike, the run, and the overall time!!!

So, that's about it. I am pleased with my swim time, because I know under the right circumstances, it would have been much better. I am thrilled with my bike time. And I am disappointed in my run time.

I am really going to have to work on running if I am going to continue to do triathlons!

But all in all, a very good day!

I am HAPPY!

Lynette, a strong and determined athlete

P.S. Oh, and a wonderful thing happened to my friend, Janlyn, today. She took 1st place in her age category (ages 55 - 59) with a time of 1:29.08. I was so proud of her, and it really made my day seeing her so happy!

[KnottedYet]

Congratulations!
Nifty huge time difference in your bike! Very nice, very nice!
Next year get in that faster swim group and kick buns!
(and then tell us about it, cuz we like reading race reports )

[Tri Girl]

Wow- you did AWESOME!!! CONGRATULATIONS

Your bike split was GREAT- nice job dropping so much time from last year. The run and swim times were great also. You've really improved your speed from last year, and your times prove how far you've come. Really, really great race!!! Glad you toughed it out in the weather- sometimes that can make for a terrible race, but your attitude makes all the difference and it didn't seem to phase you a bit!

Way to go!!!! Now, pictures, please...

[KSH]

Great job! You did an amazing job!

Yep, you are a fish in the water that is for sure!

That's fabulous that you beat your times from last year too!

[MINIskirt]

Wow, congratulations!! Great job!

[rocknrollgirl]

Awesome Job. It makes you feel so great when you see improvement. Wait until next year!

Keep up the great work.

[Cindyloo]

Sweeeet! Congrats on the better time from last year. That's what it's all about!