Ozark Valley Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Almost forgot to take swim goggles out of my gear bag before the transition area closed.

A little bumping but it really did not bother me too much. Sorry to whoever was behind me and the boot to the head - there are better swimmers to draft.

Felt ok with sighting. Did drift off course a few times but easily correctable.

First OWS this year. Even though I was relatively confident I could do the distance, felt like the first half of the swim was a bit of a struggle. Once I rounded the first buoy, I was able to settle in.

Obviously need more time in the pool to work on pacing.

T1 starts at the edge of the lake. The actual transition area was about 200 yds up a hill. I appreciated the carpeting all of the way to the transition area. By the time I got to my bike, I was really breathing hard.

A quick survey in the transition looked like 99% of the riders had shoes on their towels rather than clipped in. I followed as the initial part of the bike ride was uphill and did not want to dump the bike in front of everyone.

Somewhere during the transition, I lost my energy gel pack that I was planning on about the 10 mile mark. Tape it to the bike?

Get a little more confident with shoes on the bike and a flying mount.

Did not push on the bike as hard as I should have but the strategy was to save a little for the run. As it turned out, this decision was not really a factor going into the run.

Was able to stay aero on the bars for the entire ride except up the one hill.

Should have driven the course before the race.

Don't get complacent and be afraid to pass.

Almost waited too long to get out of my biking shoes while riding.

I had planned to find an energy gel in my gear bag to replace the one that I lost in the T1. Decided to not waste the time looking, slide the running shoes on, and attempt to have a strong finish.

As I was leaving T2, the first participants were at the finish line.

Feet out of the bike shoes a little sooner.

Quick laces worked well.

Heat and humidity just got to me. I did a lot of walking

Brick, interval, and hill training. That should cover it.

Most of my run training has been late in the evenings when it was cooler.

No warm down. I was ready to find some shade, sit down, drink water, and have a banana.


This course was a good confidence boost. I was most concerned about the swim distance but should have been more concerned about the run course. More run training in the heat of the day would have helped.


Felt like the course beat me, so I'll be back for a rematch next year!