Cranberry Country Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Thankfully, water temps had dropped to wetsuit-legal levels. It's in a small lake, which pretty much requires you swim the perimeter all the way around. Makes for an unusual buoy configuration. I had real trouble sighting on the way back. Sun was right in my eyes, and there was tons of glare off the water. I couldn't see the buoys through the glare. Had to rely on swimmers around me to estimate where to go. Ended-up on the inside of one buoy, requiring me to cut back around it. At the end I didn't even see the finish and swam right by it. If it wasn't for all the cheering I would have kept going...

Need goggles with better glare protection. I'd estimate I wasted ~2 min swimming off course (and past the finish). I'm pleased with my endurance. I could have easily kept swimming, and actually wish I pushed harder.

Disappointingly long T1. The transition area is large, but I still think I should have been out of there in under 3 minutes. I need to cut time. It's free time that I shouldn't waste with inefficiency.

My fastest ride of this length to date. Very pleased. Only bikes that passed me were tri bikes. No road bikes (which I currently ride) succeeded in permanently passing me. This was a fast course, which undoubtedly assisted in my good time.

Get a tribike! The bike segment is my strongest in triathlons. I can't wait to get a tribike during the up-coming off season and see what a can do next year with some proper gear. Need to get aero.

T2 is never really an issue. Don't see too much room to improve.

Took me ~ 2miles to get my running legs. After that I felt pretty good. I walked at most drink stops to make sure the water/gatorade went into my mouth, rather than all over my face. The hill at mile 5 was a killer. Probably not steep or long in absolute terms, but at the end of the race, it's a challenge.

I was aiming for sub-8-minute miles, so I didn't quite get my goal. Overall pretty happy. I need to run more...

Legs cramped at finish line. Met KathyG there, who was kind enough to give me water. Walked around and consumed lots of liquids.


This was my first olympic distance race, and my 4th triathlon to date. My overall goal was to get 2:30. I was only 2 minutes over that, so I'm very pleased. Better sighting on the swim was probably all I needed to get to my time goal. I was also hoping to finish in the upper 1/3 of racers. I'm only a few spots shy of that, and I was well into the top half of my age group. So, again, I'm very happy.

I need to train smarter next season (encorporate periodization). I'm sure I will get faster over time.


This is a fantastic race. Very organized. Plenty of volunteers. Lots of drinks during the race and after. Ice water sponges felt great at the finish. I will definitely do this again next year.

TO KATHYG: My wife told me tonight that you asked to get a picture of me at the finish line. I was so dazed I didn't even realize it. I heard someone ask me to pose for a picture, and I assumed it was my wife. I'm sorry if I came off as rude--truly unintentional!! Thanks for the water!