The Grandman Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

First time males were 2nd to last wave. Tide was low in the Bay so you could wade almost the entire course. Penalized strong swimmers but helped folks like me. Probably cut 2-4 minutes off my time but conditions were same for everyone. Wish the water level would have been higher so this would have been a true swim even though it is my weakest area.

Lots of room for improvement. Really didnt think it was that long. A little trouble getting tri shirt on and took some extra time getting feet rinsed with water bottle.I wear socks for bike and run so didnt want a bunch of sand on my feet for remainder of race. Should have been less than 3 minutes. Lost time here. Everything was where it was suppose to be I was just slow.

Maybe use water pan for feet instead of squirt bottle. Would be quicker. Time flew and I will need to better balance time/racing

Felt good on bike. First real ride of any distance on new Cervelo P1. Huge difference over road bike with clip on aerobars. Shifting was crisp and bike went well. Only passed by two riders on high end "rocket bikes". Not sure where they came from as fat tires and athena's were the only groups behind us. Passed alot of folks given our late wave start. Really like the bike although I was worried since I had only taken a short ride on it the day before. A big risk but avg speed was 1.7 mph better than last time I did the course on road bike.

Need to continue to increase the engine horsepower. New bike is plenty for my ability at this point.

Better than T1-but had to be. Shoes off, running shoes on. Helmet/glasses off. Grabbed visor drank some water and headed out. Lost a few seconds getting run belt on-had trouble with the clip.

Clip on belt as running out of transition.

Felt worn out after long uphill beginning. Walked through first water station. Took a sip and poored remainder down my back. Started running again and gradually got my running legs. Passed by one speedy female and passed maybe 10-15. Was able to push the pace over the last half mile. Beautiful run setting with good shade over the last mile.

Run was about what I had hoped.

Found family, had some water and cooled off. Visited with friends and enjoyed fact that I had finished under my goal time. Eventually had some pizza and couple of adult beverages after cleaning up transition area and getting bike/gear in car. Hung out for award and raffle. Fun day.


Will continue to work on swim through Summer with lots of OWS practice. Feel good about how the bike and run are progressing. Will need to map out a plan for Fall Olympic distance that will include OWS in Gulf. Some nice race wheels would help too. :)


Fun race just a couple of miles from home. Beautiful setting in city of Fairhope, AL on Mobile Bay. Good support. Lots of post race food/drink in shaded park overlooking the Bay. Beautiful weather and glad to have completed my first tri.