By Missy Trinque
It all started Friday afternoon with a trip to Marianna, Florida for the Freedom Springs Triathlon. If you've never been to Marianna you need to know there are limited options when it comes to hotels and dining. The choice to stay outside of Marianna along I-10 would've been a much better choice than staying in town, where we elected to stay.
I was very happy when race morning finally arrived after that long, sleepless night. We drove to the spring, Blue Spring Recreation Area, where the triathlon was to take place. This was a short supersprint event with only 400 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and 5k run. Thanks to Mindi, I was warned ahead of time to bring my wetsuit, the water within the spring was extremely cold but I appreciated the extra buoyancy. Once out of the water and onto the bike and run both of these segments were very short, flat, and fast out-and-back routes which were welcoming to me after my long, sleepless night. The course was well marked and the run was nice with all the trees to shade the athletes along the dirt path. All in all, this race was nice, very laid-back but yet a nice and fast course if that's what you're looking for. Thankful that our fearless leader, Mindi Straw won Female Overall Masters so I was able to take First Place in the 45-49 Age Group which made it definitely a successful race.
We then headed back west, past Pensacola to New Roads, Louisiana for the next race -- "Freedom Fest.” Because it was the holiday weekend it was a long, slow trek but we did make it safe and sound. This was also a short-distance event but more of a true sprint distance compared to the Saturday event: 800 yard swim, 18 mile bike and 5k run.
The swim was within the False River which is very calm. This made for a great swim for me! I quickly settled into a rhythm and was very comfortable throughout the entire swim and very pleased with my overall time. Just like the previous day’s race the bike course was a very flat, fast, and out-and-back course. There was some confusion with where the turnaround point was located. Some athletes took the wrong turn around and cut their bikes short, thankfully the race director handled it very well. Next, on to the run. Flat, fast, out-and-back route but unlike the day before this run was HOT – no shade and scorching! The run was very well marked and supported throughout the route. Overall, I really enjoyed this race mainly because of the swim was so nice and that's my favorite part of triathlon. I won Overall Female Master’s category, proud of that. This will definitely be a race I will put on my calendar for future years!
A big shout out to my team for their enthusiasm and support and to all the sponsors that believe in us as athletes and ambassadors of the multisport. Anyways, till the next race report, keep in keeping on!!!
I was very happy when race morning finally arrived after that long, sleepless night. We drove to the spring, Blue Spring Recreation Area, where the triathlon was to take place. This was a short supersprint event with only 400 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and 5k run. Thanks to Mindi, I was warned ahead of time to bring my wetsuit, the water within the spring was extremely cold but I appreciated the extra buoyancy. Once out of the water and onto the bike and run both of these segments were very short, flat, and fast out-and-back routes which were welcoming to me after my long, sleepless night. The course was well marked and the run was nice with all the trees to shade the athletes along the dirt path. All in all, this race was nice, very laid-back but yet a nice and fast course if that's what you're looking for. Thankful that our fearless leader, Mindi Straw won Female Overall Masters so I was able to take First Place in the 45-49 Age Group which made it definitely a successful race.
We then headed back west, past Pensacola to New Roads, Louisiana for the next race -- "Freedom Fest.” Because it was the holiday weekend it was a long, slow trek but we did make it safe and sound. This was also a short-distance event but more of a true sprint distance compared to the Saturday event: 800 yard swim, 18 mile bike and 5k run.
The swim was within the False River which is very calm. This made for a great swim for me! I quickly settled into a rhythm and was very comfortable throughout the entire swim and very pleased with my overall time. Just like the previous day’s race the bike course was a very flat, fast, and out-and-back course. There was some confusion with where the turnaround point was located. Some athletes took the wrong turn around and cut their bikes short, thankfully the race director handled it very well. Next, on to the run. Flat, fast, out-and-back route but unlike the day before this run was HOT – no shade and scorching! The run was very well marked and supported throughout the route. Overall, I really enjoyed this race mainly because of the swim was so nice and that's my favorite part of triathlon. I won Overall Female Master’s category, proud of that. This will definitely be a race I will put on my calendar for future years!
A big shout out to my team for their enthusiasm and support and to all the sponsors that believe in us as athletes and ambassadors of the multisport. Anyways, till the next race report, keep in keeping on!!!