Because I liked doing Brineman last year, I decided to do it again ... even though, as we all know, my swimming and cycling has been abysmal this year.
Like, bad.
In typical Utah fashion, I went back to the gym to swim ... only to be told the pool would be under construction for like two weeks (almost the entire lead up to the race). This happens every time I try to swim again after a layoff - dead serious. I actually went to my backup option this time, though, and got in a few times. I also dragged out the ol' tri bike and got back on it - that was less painful. And running ... well, I've been doing enough of that.
I also have like 17 years of experience doing endurance sports, so meh. Which is the worst attitude to have, I fully admit.
They did a packet pickup at the Nature Center near the house on Thursday night, so I chose to do my daily walk to that (nice little two miles round trip).
Friday morning, I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, threw on clothes, threw together my transition bag, and walked the half mile to transition to set up my spot.
Then a walk back home to eat breakfast, poop, and actually get dressed (and sunscreened and all that good stuff).
I forgot that there's a looooong wait in between the swim waves - there's about 90 minutes from the start of the half to the start of the sprint - so I just hung out while B went back home to make more coffee.
Perhaps not smart, I got into my wetsuit way early. And it was obvious I hadn't worn it in a year - it was TIGHT.
In chatting with someone before my start, apparently wetsuits do shrink if you don't wear them (it's not that we all gain weight), so next time I apparently need to get it wet and put it on to start getting it stretchy again like a week or so in advance. Still learning ...
A little after all the Olympic racers got in the water, I popped in for a tiny practice swim, just to see if I remember how to swim open water. Kinda - just have to get used to that first rush of COLD, as always.
The Swim:
I feel like I got beat up a lot less than I did last year on the swim. I also felt like the first tiny bit went well ... and not so much afterward. Drank some lake water, the usual.
I felt like my sighting was terrible - even B commented on how terrible it was post-race - and it was obvious in how much extra my Garmin said I swam this year as opposed to last year: it's a 750m swim; Garmin had me doing 800something last year ... and over 1000something this year. Ooops.
Therefore, it's no surprise that my swim was like a good 5 minutes slower than last year.
(also huh, maybe not swimming actually matters ...)
Time: 22:55.3
T1:
Teeny tiny bit of Aquaphor on the back of the neck just in case I chafed (only felt like maybe? but better to be safe ...) and otherwise, in, out, faster than last year. Boo-yah.
Time: 1:58.33
The Bike:
... they really need to update the maps and distance of the bike course in their system, as it was the same course as last year (my usual ride out to the Antelope Island Causeway with a u-turn soon after the guard station) and NOT the weird winding neighborhood route.
I went back and forth with a few people, but mostly left them in my dust, which was nice.
How I managed to do better on the bike this year (by almost THREE MINUTES), I don't know. But I did.
Time: 33:00.65
T2:
Uneventful as per usual. Also chose not to BodyGlide feet (eh it's a sprint). Shaved off like a second from last year.
Time: 2:24.71
The Run:
So ... I was a little surprised on how well the run went, but TriUtah really needs to get their miles figured out. I hit mile 1 at 1.08, 2 at 2.08, 3 at 3.05 and the "3.2" mile course is really like 3.5. But thankfully I knew that going in this year UNLIKE LAST YEAR.
In looking back at last year's report, mile one was sub-11 - it was this year, too. Mile two was actually a lot slower, though, as I gave up and had a porta potty stop. But mile 3 went back sub-11 ... so without that porta potty stop, my run probably would have been significantly faster as opposed to like two seconds slower.
Dumb.
At like ... 1.25ish, maybe? Not looking terrible, tbh.
Looking a lot more terrible coming into the finish.
Time: 38:03.24
Overall Stats:
Time: 1:38:22.30
5/15 division (F40-44)
34/100 gender
113/237 overall
A bit worse than last year, and it's pretty much because of my terrible shit swim. But given how much I haven't swum over the past, well, two years, am I surprised? No. Am I still glad I can pull a sprint triathlon (essentially untrained) out of my ass? Yes. Very much so.
And I'll never not take a hilarious oversized brine shrimp medal.
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