Hey all-
This is my first race report, so bare with me.
I did my second sprint yesterday (Saturday 7/7/07) in Pardeeville, WI, a small town about 45 minutes north of Madison, WI. I stayed with some family in Madison the night before, and got up at about 5:30 to get to the race around 7:00. The race was pretty well organized for a small race, and started right on time, at 8 AM.
I was in the third wave for the quarter mile swim. It was my first open water swim, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We started, and I got off fine, trying to avoid people's arms and legs as much as possible. No serious kicks to report. The water was nice, not too warm and not to cold. I wore a wetsuit because I'm not a strong swimmer, and it helps with my buoyancy. I had trouble with drifting away from the turning points, so thats something to work on for next time. I came out of the water in 7:45, between 1/3 and1/2 back in my wave. That is a good swim for me, as it is my weakest leg.
T1 was good, I peeled of my wetsuit, threw on my shirt (I need to get a number belt for next time), strapped up my shoes and helmet and was off. There was a lot of distance between beach and transition and the bike mount point, so despite no problems the transition took about 2 minutes.
The bike course was flat and pretty fast. I ate some Gu after about a minute on the bike, and drank some water. The course was flat except 2 very minor hills (I'm from Dubuque, IA, which is incredibly hilly). I think I could have biked a bit faster, but didn't want to overexert on the bike and mess up the run (which I did at my last tri), but I averaged 21 mph over the 15 mile course, for a time of 43:30.
T2 was very good. I got my feet out of my shoes at the end of the ride, hopped off the bike and ran hard to transition. I pulled on my shoes (I got elastic laces since the last tri), grabbed my small bottle of water, and was off. 1:00 flat.
The run course was flat as well, with a lot of turns. I started off pretty easy, trying to get used to running again and listening to my breathing. I didn't have a watch and couldn't find the mile 1 marker, if there was one, and before I knew it I was at the turn around. I was feeling good and so I picked up the pace, focusing on picking off people. I took a little water at the transition, but dumped most on myself with only a mile and a half left, and a lot of water in me from the bike and beginning of the run. I kept pushing myself the last mile, and with about a quarter mile left pushed again, and set myself up for a good 200 meter kick or so. I passed a good number of people and nipped one guy at the very end. 20:10 for the 5k.
So I ended up at 1:14:31 for the race, my goal was 1:15:00, so I'm really happy. I thought the race was well organized, there was free food at the end, no real problems to report. Weather was great, and the overall experience was awesome for a second triathlon!