Comparing My 2021 and 2022 Square Lake Triathlons

I did the 2021 Square Lake Sprint Triathlon with just a stopwatch, and then I had my new Garmin for the 2022 version last weekend. Here are some comparisons (to kind of compare fitness levels):

SWIM:

2021: 13:21, 16th overall
2022: 14:22, 14th overall
1:01 slower this year

It seemed short in 2021, so I can't complain about being "slower" this year (with technically a better overall rank). And my sighting was DECENT (not great), and I swam a pretty straight line:

Not bad for me!!

T1:

2021: 1:19, 11th overall
2022: 1:29, 15th overall
0:10 slower this year

I was racked in a better spot this year (as last year it was "assigned" spots and I was farther from the "bike in/out" and the "run out"), so there's no reason my time should be slower this year. Oh wait... there is TOO a reason why: trying to get on that damn long-sleeve shirt while soaking wet because the temp was in the 40s! But I'm not complaining - it is what it is.


BIKE:

2021: 52:16, 3rd overall
2022: 51:18, 4th overall
0:58 faster this year

It was a bit chillier this year, but both years were great days to ride! I guess all that trainer time has been helping out this year! And it's not just trainer TIME - I've been putting in more EFFORT on the trainer than in 2021 (and 2020 for that matter).


T2:

2021: 0:46, 10th overall
2022: 0:41, 2nd overall
0:05 faster this year.

I'm always fast in T2, but this was only faster because I was in a better spot. I was gunning for the 2 guys in front of me. (Spoiler, I couldn't catch them.)


RUN:

2021: 18:59, 3rd overall
2022: 19:11, 2nd overall
0:12 slower this year

I know 0:12 isn't much, but I was hoping this would be better. I had a SOLID base from winter running, but it didn't turn into REAL GOOD training until too late in the summer.

Pace for the tri's 5K. My heart rate was through the roof as seen in my race report!

The first 3 dips in speed are all hills (right out of T2, heading out of the park, and then heading close to the "mile 1" marker), the dip in the middle is the turn-around where I grabbed a cup of water, the slowdown that looks like a "bowl" 3/4 through the 5K is climbing that hill with less than a mile left, and then I booked it to the finish with the help of a downhill (topping out at 4:54 pace). My Garmin data also shows I ran the first half in 10:16 with then the last half being 8:56 - that's a decent negative split! It always takes me a bit to "find my legs" after biking, so it wasn't sandbagging... as shown by my 198 bpm average heart rate that was in Zone 5 99% of the time as seen in my race report!


OVERALL:

2021: 1:26:38, 2nd overall
2022: 1:26:58, 3rd overall
0:20 slower this year

I really can't complain about that! Got some time back on the bike and with a better transition location, lost a little time struggling in T1 and on the run, and lost more time with a slightly longer swim. I'm A-OK with all of that!

Here's my race report from last week's Square Lake Sprint Tri if you missed it.