Race Report: Title 9 Sprint Triathlon

(Disclaimer: This is not a very interesting race report. I wanted to write it before I forgot the details so I can reference it next year.)

Title 9 Sprint Triathlon
September 8, 2013
Hopkinton, MA
Total time: 1:28:13, 230 of 685 total, 7 of 25 Athena division

Me, Connie & Emily pre-race

Swim / .25 mile / 9:29 / 31 of 685 total 
2012 swim time 11:05. Happy with my 1:36 difference. Felt really sluggish on the swim too, so probably could have been even faster. Next year.

T1 / 2:02
2012 T1 time 2:30. Pretty impressive considering I had to take a wetsuit off this year. Didn't wear socks, which wasn't an issue on the bike, or the run. I definitely think that saved me about 20-30 seconds, and no negative consequences.

Bike / 10 miles / 43:33 / 319 of 685 total
2012 bike time 45:29. Not happy with only a 2 minute improvement. I have a road bike this year compared to a hybrid in 2012, and I've been biking a hell of a lot more this year than last year. Need to get better on hills, for sure. What I liked about this year though is that when I got back to my bike rack row, there was not a single other bike on the rack yet. It's possible that some people in my row just started in a later swim wave, but it was still a neat feeling to be the only bike on the rack as I headed out for the run.

T2 / 1:24 
2012 T2 time 1:22. Had to change from bike shoes to running shoes, which I didn't have to do last year, so I'm happy with this T2 time. Put on another tank top over my tri top for vanity, but did it on the run out of T2 so I don't think that took up too much time. I also wore my race bib on my race belt under my wetsuit so I had it on for the entire race, which also saved a couple of seconds.

Run / 3.1 miles / 31:46 / 368 of 685 total
2012 run time 30:11. I knew I'd be slower than last year. This basically cancels out the time I gained in the swim. Pushed myself a lot on this run. I had the "girl in green shirt" marked, and didn't realize til I saw the results that she was also an Athena. I beat her by 7 seconds, which was all done in the last .25 mile of the run.

What I like about Title 9 is the newbie feel to the race. VERY different from Timberman, in which I felt like I didn't belong. I'm not crazy about the Title 9 bike course though. Those bumps on the pavement heading out of the state park make me feel like my bike is going to fall apart. I'm not a fan of hills, but that's not an excuse not to do this race. I just need to get better on the hills.  Eventually I'd like to be able to make the podium at this race in the Athena category, or at least continue to bring my time down considerably.