Overall I felt the swim went pretty well for me given my lack of experience. As much as I thought about how scary it might be to rub elbows and get kicked at the start I found that all those fears went away once the starting gun went off. I was all about getting this swim done and over with!

Need to work on improving the efficiency of my stroke

Transition wasn't timed in this race. But I did feel that it took too long to get my wetsuit off. Should have not tried to kick it off. Would have been better off to bend down and pull it off each ankle. I also still have road shoes with a ratchet so I didn't even bother a running start with my shoes already attached to the pedals. There will be time for that next year.

More practice. Need to learn how to get my wetsuit off quicker and also learn the running bike mount.

Felt like I went very hard on the bike. I was very surprised to see my HR as high as it was. I had done a recon of the bike course so I knew that there were only two climbs to speak of in the first few miles. Went as hard as I could after I got over the two climbs. Then it was 3 1/2 miles of flat followed by a lot of downhill until the finish. I was able to pass six other competitors but also got passed by a few people including some guys on a full tri bike.

Nothing. I am riding a Trek Madone which is a road geometry. I don't think I could have gone any faster. I will eventually try to get my existing bike so that is more aero by adding bars, maybe a wheel cover and a tri helmet.

Transition wasn't timed.

Need to get some quick tying laces.

The run was below average to poor for me. My PR on a 5K had been 24 mins. This was my first tri so I may have gone to hard on the bike. When I first started out the run my legs felt like logs. My heart rate was near max and I think I slowed down in an effort to get my HR down. I pressed on but felt like I was just shuffling along especially on the uphill sections. Mile 2 I was able to pick up my pace a little bit but didn't feel like I had much energy until I started to get a sniff of the finish line.

Speed work and more bricks to assimilate myself from the bike to run transition.

Walked around a bit and talked to my family. I really felt pretty good after the race. Had a bottle of water, a banana and a few orange slices. I eventually had a bowl of chicken noodle soup which really hit the spot.


I think my training was not aggressive enough. I trained for the race just to finish so I didn't try to get too fancy. I didn't do any speed work or intervals on the bike or run. Next time I think I will throw in some harder intensity training instead of just focusing on the mileage and time.


This was a small race but a very good choice for my first Triathlon. Overall, there was a really good vibe around the race. There were a lot of first timers but there were some experience people too. I chatted with one guy who had done 5 IM's. (He was 50 and later blew past me on the bike) The organizers did a great job and I would recommend the event to a first timer. I may decide to enter it again next year.