Tri Miami Sprint Triathlon Race Report (May 20, 2012)

May 20^th was my first triathlon of the season: Tri Miami Triathlon (Sprint distance). 

Here is my report about the race:

Arrived to the park (Crandon Park) around 5:30 AM and moved down to the first item of the list. Body marking…no makers anywhere to be found, I said to myself “screw it, I am setting up transition”. I racked my bike, laid out the rest of the items on top of my towel, and set myself out to get body marked/chipped. There was a huge line to get the chip and the actual markers were making their way down the line where athletes helped each other get the numbers on their bodies. I guess the event management did not get enough volunteers.

Chipped, marked, and transition setup I made way to swim start. At 6:30 AM the International Distance races had their go in the water and at 7:30 we, sprint racers, heard the blow horn to start.

The 1/4 mile swim seemed longer than usual. I usually do the .25 mile in 10 minutes during training and 7 minutes on race day. Total time in the water was 11:50. All other competitors were around the same time. The water pretty calm with lots of algae at the swim start and finish. Today was the first time I wore my smoked goggles (Aqua Sphere Kayman) as the east was on my right and had the sunrise on my eyes.

Transition #1 was fast 1:12 minutes. No issues putting my shoes, helmet, and eye wear. The bike came off the rack like a dream and I was out of there in a flash.

Bike was exactly 12.4 miles. I was a fast bike split. I got to the 10 mile mark in 29 minutes and change. While passing a racer a referee told me to complete or move back; I completed the pass before he finished speaking. I was racing against some other competitor; he would pass and will chase and pass him. We were like this for about 4 miles until we reached the famous Rickenbacker Bridge. At this point I pushed harder and lot him on the climb…never saw him again. I would like to add this was my first race with my new bike, 2011 Cervelo P1 Ultegra. Total time for the 12.4 miles was 35:45 minutes

Transition #2 was a little bit more complicated. Somehow my bike grew one or two inches during the ride and it wouldn’t fit under the rack. Once I got the bike racked again I tried to put my running shoes: the heel of the left shoe went inside alongside with my foot, I had to take it out and put again. I was out of T2 in 1:41 minutes.

Run portion was 3.1 on the dot. I went slower than usual; I have 15 extra pounds of body weight from the last time I raced. I am working on getting rid of it. Total time for the 5K was 26:14 minutes. No issues here and nothing remarkable to remember.

Certificate of completion