Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon

After the Long Course, once I realized I wasn't going to be able to do the Mayflower Triathlon (more about that in my next post), Mark asked me "What next?"
What next was the Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon in Longmont, CO. This was a new race and also my first sprint distance.
I got to Union Reservoir just before 7 and quickly got set up. There were no row assignments, it was essentially a free for all, but there seemed to be plenty of space so there were no problems. It was pretty cold so I lingered in transition as long as I could with clothes and a windbreaker on before pulling on my wetsuit and padding across the chilly pavement to the start.
The race was a little late in starting, but that's pretty much the only complaint that could be made about the organization of the whole day, and a very minor one at that.

The Swim - 750m
The water was a very comfortable temperature when we started. The sun was off to our right and was never a problem. In fact, I probably did better sighting in this race than I have in any other, including the Stroke n Strides, and I hope it's a good sign for the future.
I was wary of going too hard on the swim, I basically have three speeds in the water. Too easy, Normal and Too Hard. i tried to stick to 'Normal' for most of the race, and pushed it a bit harder in the final stretch. If I hadn't had to do a bike and run afterwards I could have pushed it further. but, of course, I did.
Time - 15:49 (official time 15:49, my actual swim time, 15:11, was from the sound of the horn to my actual exit from the water.)

T1
I had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off, but generally an uneventful transition. Only 16 men had faster T1's. This is definitely one area I don't need practice. Too bad it doesn't count for much :)
Time - 1:31

The Bike - 12.4 miles
The bike is essentially 3 loops of 4 miles each. The road was closed (my first race on a closed course) and this made for a much more comfortable race. The first loops I spent basically warming up (it was still cold), getting to know the course and trying to catch my breath. Apparently I HAD gone a little too hard on the swim. The second and third laps were much better and starting the third lap, I pushed it a good bit harder, quickly dropping another guy from my age group that I had been going back and forth with for most of the first two laps.
I felt really good leading up to the end of the bike course. Then I did something stupid.
When riding on my commuter bike, I often would do a rolling dismount. I never do this on my tri-bike because I have a Bento Box that gets in the way. Since this was just a sprint I decided not to bring the Bento Box. Coming down the road it occurred to me that I could do a rolling dismount from my bike. I got unclipped and got my leg over without problem. Once I hit the ground though I stumbled a bit, squeezed my hand... right on my brake lever, stopping it short and sending me and the bike flying.
I hit the ground rolling and popped up quickly enough that I wondered if I had hit the ground at all. Unfortunately I had and the people around gasped, asking if I was ok. I was, but was definitely embarrassed. I picked up my bike and headed into transition.

T2
I took T2 much easier as I was definitely shaken up from the header and didn't want to forget anything or do anything stupid in transition. I made sure everything was working and nothing was broken. i had some gravel burn on my hand and raspberries on the back of my shoulder and forearm, but nothing serious.
Time - 2:29

The Run - 3.1 miles
Once I got settled and knew I wasn't missing or forgetting anything, I headed out on the run. I was feeling good (aside from the injuries) but again, wasn't sure how hard I should go out. I had Mr Bleep Bleep with me (again) and settled into what felt like a maintainable pace. The course starts fairly flat as it goes around the edge of the Res, before doing a longish climb up to the first mile marker. There's then a subtle downhill to the turnaround, then back the same way.
The climb felt pretty slow and after the turnaround the more subtle uphill felt even slower.
I still managed to make decent time though and hold a solid pace any time I checked my watch.
Time - 26:41

Wrapup
My total time was 1:26:16. I definitely feel like I could have done better if I'd backed off a little on the end of the swim and not gotten stupid on my bike dismount, but not by a whole lot.
After the finish there was free pasta and beer, which was nice. I also ran into Jen Martinez, a BTCer who i hadn't seen since last year. I only saw two BTCers during the race, but I didn't know either of them, I picked them out only because they had the BTC gear on.

All told it was a very enjoyable race and probably just what I needed. After the Long Course, I got sick just as I was starting to get past being worn out from the race. Then, just as I was starting to feel better and starting to feel excited about training again I went away for my brother's bachelor party. I did very little training during the 6 days I was away for that
nd the race really kicked me into gear I think. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's workout.