an entry somewhere else

Last year, I trained for a sprint triathlon in my entry to the sport. Three weeks ago, I completed my first Olympic-length triathlon (see the Triathlon page for my training regime). Yesterday, I ran the same sprint tri that started me off. This year was teeth-chattering cold in the water, wet on the bike and a little sun on the run. I’ll compare.

Last year: 3d of 8 in my age group, 69/125 all men

Swim: 20:02, Pace: 4:01/100m, Rank: 6
Transition 1: 3:52
Bike: 40:31, Avg speed: 18.5 mph, Rank: 3
Transition 2: 1:08
Run: 27:36, Pace: 8:53/mile, Rank: 3
Total: 1:33:06

This year (with change in time from last year): 11th of 24 in my age group, 71/158 all men

Swim: 16:11, Pace: 3:15/100m, Rank: 9/24 Comparison- 20:02 v 16:11
Transition 1: 3:18 Comparison: 3:52 v 3:18
Bike: 40:14, Avg speed: 18.5mph, Rank: 12/24 Comparison: 40:31 v 40:14
Transition 2: 1:20 Comparison: 1:08 v 1:20
Run: 25:37, Pace: 8:15mph, Rank: 11/24 Comparison: 27:36 v 25:37
Total: 1:26:38 Comparison: 1:33:06 v 1:26:38

A 6:28 minute improvement! Got whacked in the head a couple times on the swim, plus I hadn’t swam in two weeks. The bike was wet and I did take the turns a little slow and felt the burns on the quads…. I may turn in one more sprint this season.