Buster Britton Triathlon

Here's a quick recap and a few photos from the Buster Britton Sprint Triathlon on Saturday. It was a great race, I had a great time, and it felt really awesome representing Team Red White & Blue!

Swim: 400yards open water swim - 6:47 - 6/35 in the Age Group
Just like last year, as soon as I dove in, my goggles rolled down to my nose. I just had to make do. Went away from shore a few strokes before fixing them. Then it was business. Made several passes and since it was a short swim, I went for broke.

Transition 1: Swim to Bike transition - 1:55 

Worked quickly to get from the waters edge, through the transition fencing and to the bike. Once there, put on the helmet, sunglasses and bike shoes. Then it was off. I really need to work on a "flying mount" to save some more time here.

Bike: 13miles - 41:51 - 18.64mph - 16/35 Age Group

It was a simple out and back, except for the hilly Oak Mountain part. Lots of up and downs and very technical descents. I do believe I topped out at 40mph on some of the downhills, and got slowed to under 9mph on some of the climbs. Just a little slower than last years course, but I have a feeling that has a whole lot to do with the massive amount of work I've had that's cut into my play time.

 I made the mistake of dismounting the bike and riding the pedal too early. I wound up coasting down that small hill and taking it too easy. And because of that, the guy in red behind me caught me in transition. Another little thing to work on.

Transition 2 - Bike to run - 2:00

A quick move back through the transition area to rack the bike, throw on the running shoes, drop the helmet and go.

Run: 3mi - 26:11 - 8:43/mi - 22/35 Age Group

Again, it was another out and back course with a slight incline for the first 1.5miles. The good thing was the additional shade from the modified course, but still, uphill is uphill no matter how you look at it. I was doing great maintaining my form and keeping my pace pretty steady, until a yellow jacket decided to sting me at the 2mi mark. I guess it was a good thing that there was only 1mi to go.

Overall Thoughts

Team Magic does a great job putting on this race. It's a sprint triathlon, friendly to beginners, and a litmus test to the high caliber athletes. I haven't had a single complaint in the three years I've raced it and they haven't started now.

I finished #17/35 in my age group and #162/389 overall.

And this race opened several opportunities for me to share the awesomeness that is Team Red White &and Blue. And if you still haven't checked them out, or visited my fundraising page, you definitely should do so!

And if you'd like to see the Garmin files from the race, here they are: Swim, Bike, Run.