On Sunday the 14th I raced the Nor'easter reverse sprint tri up here in Maine. It takes place at the University of New England and the name for the sports teams is the Nor'easters. This is the first multisport race that I have done twice, so it was a good test to see if/how much I have improved on an exact repeat course. Last year on race day it was in the mid 60s, this year it was in the mid 40s, so not ideal but also not horrible since the projected rain/snow never showed up. The race started with a 5k, in which I actually set a 5k PR for myself (yes it is accurately measured) at 17:28 . [caption id="attachment_4174" align="alignnone" width="300"] Putting a hurt on the cycling legs[/caption]   Because it is northern New England and still very iffy on the weather, the transitions take place in a gymnasium in case the day is inclement. So there is a long run to and from both transitions. The bike course is a flat 11 mile loop course, and was windy this year. But due to a better position and more power was able to ride 2.9 mph faster for the leg. The swim is a strange snake swim in the hot (feels that way anyway) indoor pool after a long transition again, which I did a bit faster than last year. The snake swim is needed as the pool gets quite busy when the main pack of athletes hits the water and normal lap swimming is not an option. Also the ocean here is only at 42 degrees, so the fully outdoor race season is still a fair bit away. All told, I was able to chop 35 seconds off my time from last year on a day when most competitors added time from last year on the range of 45-90 seconds. So an encouraging start to the year for sure, especially for the first race of any kind since last August. Hope all are training well and gearing up for a big year!