This was beach start with a pretty small wave of about 75. I went to the far right and ran in and got into a groove very quickly. I stayed way too far right, and at the first buoy I turned about 45 degrees instead of 90. For some reason I didn't correct, and eventually a lifeguard in a kayak cut me off with the classic line "the race is that way dude". I re-aimed and headed in. Epic failure on navigation.

Start in a more aggressive position and navigate better. I was actually very surprised my navigation was so bad since all my swimming was OWS. I think the issue was everyone had warned me so much about the scrum at the start I was determined not to get involved with it, so I stayed too far away and never corrected. The actual swimming part was fine, I felt comfortable and strong. I probably swam 550 yards I was so far off course. On the straight shot in, I was passing tons of people, so I think my actual swim pace was fine.

Another disappointment. There was actually a fairly long run up the beach to T1 and I was not very comfortable as my head was spinning. Wetsuit came off fine, but I just couldn't focus even though I'd practiced T1 a bit. I think my sickness had a lot to do with the trouble. I actually left my goggles on, forgot to get a gel, and didn't dry my feet - which was bad due to the beach sand.

Not get sick. Also, I need to learn the in bike mounting for sprint distance races so as not to put shoes on in transition.

The bike was actually a bit longer since the marked distance included only the main paved ride, but there was a fairly lengthy amount of dirt/gravel road leading from mount to pavement. The ride itself was FLAT. I paced pretty slowly given how I felt health wise, hoping to have something left for the run. Overall I did the bike about as expected. I didn't push much, and in retrospect I should have pushed a lot harder. I tried to make up for energy loss in T1 (no gel) with more drinking. Big mistake.

Ride harder and not save so much. Drink less and just follow the plan. Maybe have a plan B as well.

I needed a little time to recover from the chest congestion. Also very slow getting my bike shoes off, I think again mainly due to head congestion from cold.

Not get sick and learn to do the running dismount and leave shoes on bike.

Difficult run. Because I drank too much on the bike to make up for not eating the gel in T1, I had cramps after about 1/2 mile. I'd never had them before so it was not something I knew how to deal with. I just had nothing in the tank to keep going or pick up the pace.

Train more and do the same thing on race day as practice. And I probably could have saved 3-4 minutes on the bike and run just as bad!

Easy jog and typical food.


Sickness and training. I only had about 7 weeks to get ready, but I felt great and really prepared a week before the race. I did a simulation race on a much hillier bike and run in 1:25 the week before the race. I really had hoped to go in the 1:20 range, but then the sickness hit. I was actually excited about doing the race at all, and I guess the results were great all things considered. I have the tri bug!


This was my first, so I have no basis for comparison. Great race for a beginner, very helpful staff.