Today I did my second sprint triathlon. It was very different from my first (last week). It was an open water lake swim, so that was significantly easier than the choppy swim of my first one last week. The official results have not been posted (grrrrrr) and I had to leave before the results came out there, but by MY watch I finished in 1:24:50, which is 5 minutes + faster than last week. The event was much larger though, around 375 people. Here is the breakdown:
Swim: Open water lake swim - The lake was so warm...really almost too warm. There were 9 heats and I was in heat number 5. I went out hard, hoping to get around people, but it was a strong group. I think I was about 10th in my heat, but my heat was passing a lot of the younger women (under 30) in front of us (SCORE FOR OLD FOLKS).
Bike: The bike was flat with a few slow hills, but it had a LOT of turns and part of it was on a busy highway. Last week I had a simple out and back with only 1 turn, so this was really different. Biking is my slow point, and it certainly was my slow point again. I kept getting passed by women and thinking, "I'll catch you in the run." I felt stronger though, which is a big improvement for me.
Run: The run was totally flat and very fast. I finished in just over 24 minutes, which is a PR for me. Many of the women I wanted to catch, I did! It was a great run.

The course was cool because my husband and kids could see me at many points. It was very helpful to see them and have them cheering.

Here is what I have learned from the two triathlons in 7 days:
1. I am a lot faster and stronger than I thought I was.
2. I have a lot of work to do on the bike.
3. Always do a warm up swim. This helps to calm my nerves more than anything.
4. Get there early to walk around, meet others, and just calm the nerves. Also, today my bike spot was not assigned in the transition area (was last week), so getting there early got me a prime spot in a very big area.
5. Don't be intimidated by the fancy bikes, etc. Just from looking at people, it is easy to be intimidated. Fancy gear does not equal fast time!

Ok...that's it for me. I'm looking forward to my next tri and to much more training!