Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon Race Report

Lana picked me up at about 4:45pm Saturday and we headed down to Chattanooga for the Waterfront Triathlon. We just made it in time to get our packets then headed to the Hilton. Turns out they over booked and did not have a double room for us. They gave Lana the choice of a king room at the same rate or a free double room at a hotel a block away. She went for the free room. This trip was off to a GREAT start.

We had a great dinner and turned in.

Alarm went off at 5:00. We got ready and rode our bikes to the transition area. After getting body marked and setting up transition, we boarded the bus to the swim start.

The Swim 1.5 K
This race was an interval start based on estimated swim time and age. I was number 220. Lana was just ahead of me at 212. When it was me turn, I entered the water and the race was on for me. Everything was going just fine, my stroke felt good and I was breathing every third stroke. Then my goggles got so fogged up I couldn’t see anything. I just tried to deal with it for awhile but I was starting to get worried I was going off course and I could tell I was slowing down, so I stopped and wiped them out. After that things went good. I made it to the pier and got pulled out of the water. Swim time 23:54.

T1
Getting to T1 required running up a flight of stairs. T1 time 1:39

The Bike 40 K
I felt great on my ride. The course is a partially one loop with a section of two loops and was a mix of hills and flats. I did start to worry when I was on my second loop and was getting passed by a number of people but when I got to the “straight to finish, right for second loop” part I was the only rider going straight so I felt better. There was a guy that passed me and gave me a woo-hoo and rang his bell. I thought it was very funny that he had a bell on his bike!! At the 20 mile maker, a guy came flying by me and said “How fast can you ride the next 4 plus miles?” I tried to keep him in sight but he was just too fast. Bike time 1:19:57.

T2 time1:45

The Run 10K
I was starting to feel the difference between a sprint distance and an Olympic distance now. The run course took you down a ramp to the waterfront, along the river then up stairs to the river walk. Along the river walk there were several bridges. I HATE crossing bridges. The first one was a glass bottom bridge and I really did not think I was going to make it across. I started getting dizzy and had to run with my hand on the railing. After that bridge the others were not as big of a deal but they still made my heart beat faster. The course was hilly and it was very hot and sunny by this point. At the first water stop I drank a glass and dumped a glass over my head. I got a drink at each water stop and at the turn around I got sprayed by a man with a hose. Right after that I realized that the hosing wasn’t the best idea after all because now I was running is soaking wet shoes. It didn’t take long and my shoes rubbed a blister on my heal. I finally made it back over the bridges, down all the stairs and to the finish line. Run time 57:00.

Total race time 2:44:17. 25 out of 48 in my age group. 453 of 871 overall. It was not an award winning performance but I am happy with it. Now I can add Olympic Distance Triathlon to my list of accomplishments.


Right after they handed me my towel and water I hear Lana’s dad calling to me. Her parents had made it down after all. Thanks Flash for the pictures that blogger won't let me upload!!!

It was a great race with a great spread afterward. They even had free beer for all the racers. I managed to get one before they ran out.