The Spring Sprint Triathlon has been on the horizon for sometime now as my first triathlon of the year.  After many disciplined winter months of training I’ve been looking forward to this; first to see if I can break 7:30 in the 750 pool swim and second to see a big improvement in my 3.1 mile run time over last years (18:37). 

I had a hard training week leading up to the event.  On Thursday, a 9 mile track workout, took a lot out of me.  In fact, it definitely added a few seconds to my 750 swim the next day.  I felt fast warming up, partly because I wasn’t wearing a drag suit and had clipped my legs for the first time all year.  When it came time for the swim (start in the water) I felt good going out and was out fast, at 300 I was at a 2:55, however, that’s when I got a flat tire and started feeling some tired legs.  I am so dependent on my legs for speed when swimming that I had to struggle to keep my 100’s under minute pace the rest of the way.  I was pleased to finish at exactly 7:30 as tired and warn out as I felt for the last 450 yards. 

The next day we did the 12.5 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.  They start the clock and when it gets to your swim time your off to T1, and compete the rest of the event like a normal triathlon.  I felt awesome going out on the ride (in hind-sight, in large part due to a tail wind).  Then came the turn-around point where I just didn’t seem to have the energy to keep a strong pace.  I was getting leg burn and fatigue that kept me from powering over the rolling terrain.  I began to worry that a PR for the run might not be so manageable.  The last minute of the bike I geared down and spun in an effort to get my legs ready for the run. 

The way I felt biking back to T2 I should have expected Kelly to be right behind me, but I was surprised to see him in the transition area.  I got out a few seconds in front of him and focused on a quick turnover with correct form.  Surprisingly, I felt pretty good while running and kept a pace that was just out of reach.  Wow, that is a first for me… a run that felt good.  And I finished with a time that was over a minute faster than last year with a 17:33. 

Spring Sprint Results