Troika Sprint Triathlon

Last weekend, I made the last-minute decision to register for the local Troika sprint triathlon, signing up the day before the race. I have only done a sprint triathlon once before, and it was about eight years ago, with absolutely no running or swimming prior to the event. I do not recommend that method of race prep. The sprint distance is tough for me because I am not the strongest swimmer, but I figured this local race would be good race experience for me since I am still so new to triathlon.

By the time I arrived at the race venue, most of the bike racks were already full. This left me with the second-to-last rack, which was quite a distance from the entrances/exits to the transition area. Perhaps that's why people arrive so early to triathlons!

Starting the swim, it was weird to think of just how short the swim would be, and that portion of the race went by very quickly. I was a couple minutes back from the first woman after the swim.

I made the long run out of the transition area with my bike, and quickly settled into the bike. I found myself catching several women, until I was the first woman on the course. 

As I racked my bike and left the transition area on foot, I could see another woman heading in from the bike. Her racking position was better than mine, but I tried not to worry about that and just began running. I felt decent on the run, but looked back once and could see someone coming up on me. I knew I could only do what I could do, so just kept running. Around two miles into the run, the other woman caught me, and I could not do the pace she was running. It was a bummer, but I still had a decent run and finished 2nd overall in a distance that is not my strong suit.

Onion Man Triathlon

Two weekends ago, I raced in the Onion Man Triathlon in Walla Walla. This was the first triathlon I did when I started doing triathlons two years ago. I was happy to see that the weather was much better this time than it was the last. The race started with the 1500m swim. I made an effort to start more quickly than I have in the past, and I did a decent job of keeping a steady pace. I swam considerably faster than I did earlier this year at Dunes City, so that was positive. I was still a bit behind coming out of the water.

Coming out of the water, I was excited to start the bike portion of the course. I had done much of the course before (the course was changed the morning of the race, due to a car accident), as it is one of the TT courses used for the Tour of Walla Walla. I settled into the bike pretty quickly, and caught a large number of people. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch two of the ladies ahead of me, as they were too far ahead after the swim, and were also good cyclists. Though my bike was good, it was definitely not my best ride. With less than 1000 miles in my legs, I cannot complain too much.

As I headed into the run, I could tell my legs just didn't feel up to par. I ran the best pace I could for the day, which left me in 4th place overall, and 3rd in my age group.