Is THIS What I Look Like When I Race?!?

I had a pretty good race at the Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon about 6 weeks ago. I ended up with a nice oly PR at the end of the day. But I just found one more photo in the official photos that I missed a few weeks ago. Here I am rolling into T2:

The epitome of grace. That’s me.

Jeez, I think I NEED to work on a faster / smoother / better dismount!

Notice in that photo that I’m actually just OVER the dismount line by about 6 inches. Oops. I remember coming to the line fast, but then I lost my balance and I wasn’t able to get out of the saddle as soon as I wanted. I ended up coming to a complete stop (just past the line), and then I wobbled to the left to hop off my bike. That photo was taken when I was completely stopped, just as I was tipping to dismount. Super graceful.

That reminds me of another photo of me coming into T2 at a duathlon last year. Here I am in a similar position at the Winter BeGone Duathlon last spring:

Awkward.

What I’d LIKE to look like is local pro triathlete David Thompson (DKT). Here’s a clip of him FLYING off the bike at the Gear West Duathlon a few months ago:


(Click here to see the full 5 minute race recap video from the GW Du.)

I’m signed up for a short sprint triathlon this weekend in Waseca, MN, so I think I’ll be working on my dismount in the next few days.

In the meantime, I’ll keep this photo etched in my mind as motivation.

Yuck.