First Sprint

Finished my first sprint tri yesterday and I am really excited about it. Completed the Little Pepper race in 1:36:08. The weather was nice and the atmosphere was exciting. I got up at 4:00 AM, left the house at 4:30 and made my way to Culpepper for my first event. I had a bit of nerves, but settled down before the start. I got there with plenty of time to pick up my race packet, get marked and set up. Thanks to griff for the wetsuit because the water was COLD!

The swim was very challenging. Having never completed an open water swim, I jumped in the water with my age group and decided to start in the back of the pack. about 30 seconds before the gun went off, I did a quick head count and was surprised that only 30 people were in the water with me. When the gun fired, I was off and I think I went out a little harder than I should have. I swam well for about 3 minutes and then I looked up and noticed that I was well in the front of my pack. I put my head back down and then swam a bit off track (Thanks Kayak Man for straightening me out) and then panic set in. I was still quite a way from the first turn point and I was sucking for wind. Bad thoughts set in. I did the side and breast stroke for a while and when I got around turn one, I calmed down and got into a good rhythm. I think I did really well for the long stretch, but once I rounded turn 2 I started bumping into people from the previous age group and I got nervous again. I kept telling myself I could finish because I knew I could swim the distance thanks to my pool workouts. However, the lake is much different from the pool. Needless to say I survived the swim and got out at 15:16 (My Rank was 22nd).

I made a slow transition (2:37, rank 23rd) and then hit the bike for a nice ride with rolling hills and nice country side views. I felt really good on the bike and didn't have that many people pass me. I did have one error on the bike when I shifted down to the little chain ring and the chain slipped off. When I tried to shift back up, I locked into the gear and really cramped up my left calf muscle. I was able to stretch it out (thanks to a downhill coast) and finish, but for a second I thought I really hurt myself. Finished the bike at 52:17 (My rank was 15th).

I made another transition (1:48, rank 26th) and headed out to the run. I really started off slow, but loosened up and ran the 5 K in 24:12 (My rank was 17th).

Overall, It was an excellent first experience and I am glad I did it. I am more motivated now for the Griskus and Timberman and I learned a valuable lesson! I have a $hit load of work to do! Planning to hit the pool hard and I am going to get out on some hills with the bike. I think I need to really work mentally on the swim and do some visualization on transitioning. I am glad I didn't make any major mistakes transitioning, like forget my helmet, but I know I can do much better if mentally prepared. I also know I could have done a bit better on the bike (my average speed was 17 mph). This was the first ride where I had to do a lot of Gear shifting and I need to say goodbye to the flats of Haynes point and learn how to move up a hill at a good clip in the correct gear. Finally, I need to start working on my nutrition. I am way to sloppy in my eating habits and I have no clue how to eat while working out. I NEED to train my body to handle it before the bigger races! Lot's to work on!!!! Here is a summary of my stats:

Age group result 19th.
Swim Rank: 22 Time: 15:16
T1 Rank: 23 Time: 2:37
Bike Rank: 15 Time: 52:17
T2 Rank: 26 Time: 1:48
Run Rank: 17 Time: 24:12
Overall Time: 1:36:08