Rick Fitzgerald – Richmond Sprint Triathlon – Saturday, April 22, 2017

Good race. Well-organized and very friendly race director and staff. I recommend this race. 400m pool swim in 50M pool previously used for 2008 Olympic Trials. The swim is like open water, since the lane lines are tied down to the bottom of the pool near the wall and you swim over them and around buoys. Time Trial start went faster than usual, as you left in waves of 11 people. I still got blocked somewhat by slower swimmers, but not too bad. Time: 6:50 end of swim, 7:04 to the mat. 12.4 mi. bike is a fast lollipop course, with one lane closed on a busy road, which is divided in half by cones for the cyclists. This is about a mile each way. Difficult to pass slower riders in these sections. I set a new PR at 23.3 mph avg, after 30 years of racing. I like this course! Official time is slightly slower at 32:27, counting run to the mat. The 5k run is a paved flat and fast 2 loop romp around soccer fields and the pool building. I had a stitch in the last .5 mile and stopped briefly twice to massage my side. Time: 21:58. Overall 1:03:51, first place M55-59. I had fun. Post race food of egg casseroles, fried potatoes and french toast was great!