Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Warming Up Beautiful weather plus beautiful countryside helped me finish under my goal of 1:25. Though my run was the usual "somebody please explain to me why I do this" run, the swim went well, and the bike proved challenging yet faster than I've ever cycled before. I crossed the finish line at 1:22.11. Definitely a sprint tri I'll do again--maybe. The swim was in a 25 yard pool with six lanes, which meant we had to swim one way in each lane then turn and swim back in that lane, going under the lane ropes to get into the next lane. Trying to breathe when water is lapping up into your mouth because of swimmers passing from the other direction makes for a tough swim. I submitted a time of 5:30, hoping not to get stuck behind a slower swimmer. Didn't work. I got stuck behind a slower swimmer. I managed to get around her and continue on, but soon came up on another slower swimmer. I just backed off this time and settled in as much as I could. My swim time ended ...

Boiler Sprint Tri 2011 Well, I didn't meet my goal of 1:25. While that's somewhat disappointing, I'm happy with how things went considering. I finished at 1:28, 13th out of 41 women, 112th out of 156 overall. I know where my weaknesses are, and I just need to dig deep to overcome those weaknesses. The swim went okay. I've never timed myself swimming a 300 or 400, so I just guess when I enter my swim time while registering for an event. Stupid move number one. Each time, this has meant I've seeded myself lower than what I should have. I end up behind slower swimmers, and when they swim three abreast in the lane, anyone behind them can't get around. This happened yesterday. Although, I will say that yesterday the event organizers allowed people to jump ahead in line even if their seed time was slower. Three guys decided they were faster than what they really were and jumped in front of me. Then they swam side by side most of the swim, preventing others who wa...

Last season I didn't invest in any tri-specific clothing, thinking I should wait to see if I really wanted to continue participating in events this season before spending the money. The one piece of clothing I did buy last summer was a pair of tri shorts. While I never wore them in a tri, I did wear them in a duathlon and for my cycling events. With their thin chamois that wicks away moisture and acts as a padding while on the bike, those shorts served me well. Now, since I'm going to give the sprint tri another go, I decided to check out tri tops. I wore a simple one-piece suit last year, pulling on shorts for the cycling portion of the tri, and while this worked out okay, I really wanted to be able to wear the tri shorts this year to give my tush some added comfort during the ride. After much searching, I found the Orca Core Support Tri Singlet and ordered it. My new investment arrived yesterday, just in time for my scheduled swim. Orca Core Support Tri Singlet Bathing ...