From October 3rd to May 1st

Apparently, I've come a long way since October 3rd, 2009. I've decided to break down my results from the Falcon Groundspeed triathlons and see exactly how I improved 17:59 over 7 months.

Overall Time: October: 2:10:10, May: 1:52:11
I finished 121st out of 207 yesterday, which put me in the 58th percentile. In October, I finished 102 out of 132, so in the 77th percentile.


Swim: October: 17:39, May: 14:51

While it wasn't the biggest gain in time, I feel it was the biggest change in my abilities since October. Mainly, because I've worked the hardest on becoming a much better swimmer (One day, I'll out-swim my sister at a race.) In a race that last nearly two hours, three minutes isn't that much. However, I exerted significantly less energy in the spring swim, which I feel helped me do much better on the bike. I did the math and counted up the results and I finished in the top 20% of the swim. In October, I finished in the bottom half of the field.

Transition 1: October: 3:12, May 3:35

I blame the extra time on my bike helmet. It managed to fall off my aero bars in the wind and the snaps on the back got jammed. This made it too tight, so I had to break the snaps and rip apart the adjustment. It took about 30 seconds to get it fixed, so I would love to redo my transition from yesterday.


Bike: October: 1:17:19, May: 1:01:39

A big part of the cut in time is due to the bike I was using. In the fall, I had a mountain bike with commuting tires. This spring, I had my road bike with aero bars. However, I also contribute the 15:40 drop to having biked up that route several times in the past couple weeks. I knew what to expect on the hill and I knew when I could push and when to hold back. It's a lot easier to ride when I know what's coming up. I finished at the 66% percentile mark for the bike yesterday. In October, I was in the 81st percentile.

Transition 2: October: 1:56, May 2:24

I don't really know why I spent an extra 28 seconds this time around. I had to take my coat off, but that doesn't take nearly half a minute. I used to be really pleased with my transition times, but now I know I definitely need to practice them a little more.

Run: October: 30:07, May: 29:45

This was the one that really confused me. I was a pretty good runner in October and I was pretty injured this spring. I'm guessing because I still had a decent amount of energy left after the bike yesterday, I was able to run my pace without being extremely tired. However, I specifically remember being completely exhausted during the run last fall. I really would have liked to see how I could do if I hadn't been injured, but it's all part of the triathlon life. I finished in the 68th percentile. In October, I was in the 71st percentile

Overall, I felt a lot better throughout the race. Some of it had to do with being in much better shape; some of it was because I was more mentally prepared; and some of it was because of the weather. I feel really good about my results this time around, because I know just a few small changes here and there and I could have dropped a little more time. However, I feel best about knowing I went out there and gave it my all and for the first time, I beat my goal in a triathlon.