My 1st Race Video & Race Reports (video fixed)

This weekend I manage to complete two different races. A sprint triathlon and a 5 mile run race. I have to admit I was pretty excited to try completing these races. I knew I could finish both races, but I did not know if I could meet my goals and still like I was being competitive.So I looked at this as a way to measure my fitness levels and really try to push myself. So here is my race report for the Sharpshooter Sprint Triathlon and race video!

Sharpshooter Triathlon:

This is always a fun race for me. It is short enough (400 yd swim, 11 mile bike and 2 mile trail run) that you can really push it. And that was my attitude with this race, let's see what I can do. I was shooting for under an hour on this race. I have gotten close in the past, but never under an hour.

The Swim:
 The swim went well. I had zero nervous energy for this race and the swim. I spent too much time standing around talking to other people that I almost missed having a chance to swim before the race! I was able to get in my pre-swim, so I felt ready. the cool thing about this swim is that we get to dive off a dock, which I though was a lot more graceful than it appears on video. I felt like I got into a great pace and was passing people quickly. I never realized how bad my heads seems to come up out of the water while swimming! I pushed the pace and finished strong. Time: 9:29 to transition.

T1:
I decided to go ahead and put on socks in T1, which went pretty well. I had some trouble getting my shoes strapped in and then trouble getting clipped in. Other that that, T1 went fine.

Bike:
My legs felt very heavy right off the bat and I am not sure why. I took a couple good drinks from my aero bottle hoping that would help. I kept on pushing trying to get my legs feeling right. I knew there were some hills at he end of the course, so I wanted to have something left. I kept an average around 20 mph. I came out of my shoes easy and had an easy transition to my run. Time: 34:02

T2:
Only thing I will say is that due to my spending to much time talking before the race, I never got my shoes setup like I wanted them to be and that cost me a few seconds.

The Run:
I started the run feeling well but soon my calf starting twitching, so I was worrying about a cramp coming on. I grabbed some water at the first water stop and continued to push through it. I hate trail runs and never seem to run well on them. I really started feeling well with the last 1/4 mile to the finish line. Time 19:49.

Overall I finished in 1:05. 4th in my Age Group and 31st Overall. Here is the video that my oldest son Jacob took with our camcorder!




The MRTC RRS 5 Miler

This race was the following day at 7 AM. A 5 mile run through my city Bartlett, TN. This is part of a race series I am doing to prep for the marathon. I was really unsure about how I would do since I was feeling tired from the day before and my stomach was not feeling the greatest that morning either. My goal was going to be 45 minutes, anything under and I would be thrilled.I did do a little jog before it started but I was still not feeling confident.

Again, I ran without my Garmin or iPod. I started further back than normal also. Once the race started, I weaved my way through people, running steady. I checked my stopwatch at mile 1, saw it said 9:06. I was feeling pretty good now so I decided to step it up some. Mile 2 marker read 17:45, so I knew I was on pace to beat 45 minutes, but I was still feeling good, so I sped it up even more. Mile 3 and 4 felt great, I was running steady, passing lots of people and feeling great. I was almost passed with about 100 yards to the finish, but I did not feel like being passed, so I sprinted it out. Nearly killed me, but I held him off. I was expecting somewhere in the 43's, but finished with a new PR. 42:43! 23rd in my AG and 300th out of 1084 runners overall. This also moved into the top 20 in the series for my Age Group.

Overall, it was a great weekend for me racing wise. This gave me more confidence and showed me that I am improving. I have a new fire for the last couple of weeks of training for the HIM and I am looking forward to running the marathon in December!

Thanks for reading!