Heather and I competed in our second Cornman Sprint Triathlon this morning, and it was pretty good. The weather didn’t fully cooperate, but there were just a few sprinkles here and there, nothing major. I didn’t feel nervous at all for this one–it was a known quantity, and I knew just what I had to do. My wave was the second to hit the water, and I felt pretty good…not fully warmed up, but alright. I can’t swim in a straight line without lane guides though; for the second year in a row, I peeked my head out of the water and found myself a good 50 yards right of the main traffic. Oops. Got back on track and checked much more frequently, with no other incidents.
Transition 1 awaited, and I had a GENIUS plan…run barefoot through the transition with my shoes already clipped in, and slip my feet in and cinch up while riding away. Flawless victory, right? Not so much. It was WAY more trouble than it was worth in my opinion, and my feet never felt completely secure as they do when I take the time to actually strap up before clipping in. Lesson learned for next year! I had an actual road bike this year with aero bars, which helped immensely. I need to look up how to breathe though, because I could never seem to get a full breath while doubled over. The road portion was without incident, except for one time when I forgot about gearing my front cog for a hill and about fucking died trying to push up it!
Transition 2 was flying dark for me. I had originally thought to wear my Vibrams throughout the race, and slip them into my cycling shoes, but a few days prior I had tested this theory out and found it would be like trying to cram my feet into childrens’ shoes. So it was a bit mad running down the transition, hanging my bike, throwing off my shoes and trying to get all my toes in the right pocket before heading off. I felt MUCH better this year on the run. There is a hill in this race that is OH MY GAWD STRAIGHT UP, or something like that. Many bikers have to walk it, it’s so steep. The run course doubles back over the same hill, and I made a deal with myself that if I walked that hill, I wouldn’t stop again til I finished. I almost broke it, but when I slowed to start walking, some super-fit dude blazed by me and said “It’s your decision!!” which lit my fire for the last 3/4 mile. In retrospect, I probably could’ve gone faster in the run, but it was mentally hard for me to keep pumping my legs at that quicker cadence. More discipline!!! The last leg, down the chute to the finish, I opened up and sprinted hard. The finish line timer really got me going!!
So you want results, I’m sure. Well, they’re nothing short of spectacular across the board for me. I went to the tent right away to get my splits, and I must’ve been grinning for five minutes straight. Check it out:
| Overall | Swim | Transition1 | Bike | Transition2 | Run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Cornman - Sprint | 1:41:14 | 10:42 | 5:24 | 50:06 | 2:30 | 32:34 |
| 2010 Cornman - Sprint | 1:29:03 | 10:00 | 1:29 | 46:31 | 2:13 | 28:52 |
Hey, I almost forgot. It’s a 500 meter swim, a 14 mile bike, and a 5K run. So thurr.
DAMN I feel good. Setting my sights on improving for next year already…now, it’s time for some junk food and a nap!