Galena Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

Felt great! Loved the wetsuit!

Maybe head to the outside first. I felt like I was right in the thick of it, and maybe could have gotten a better line if I had moved a bit to the outside.

Didn't feel too bad for my first T1 with a wetsuit. The suit got hung up on my timing chip. I had a very hard time clipping in my left foot. Was all the way up the hill before I finally got my left foot clipped in. Also my first T1 with clipless and new bike.

More practice.

I just need more time to get comfortable in arrow. I was upright most of the ride. I felt good and strong climbing, but have no confidence on the downhills, especially once it started raining.

More road time to build confidence

Didn't seem like it took this long, but still slow. Getting the socks and shoes on was new since I am new to clipless. Also putting on the Garmin for the run slowed me down.

Put on Garmin at T1 or while running. More practice

Felt good. I was happy with my pace and effort.

Nothing

Walked around with Noz looking for his wife (who was competing). Looking for my wife (who was spectating). Getting cold from the rain.


Experience on the new bike (time on the road). Experience in transition with my gear changes (first tri using wetsuit and using Garmin).


I have to give this race a below average rating for a couple of reasons. 1) It is a logistical mess and communication to the athletes and spectators, could have been better. Example: My wife went to T1 (which is where we dropped our car) and was going to watch me and friends swim, then head to T2 via either our car or the shuttle. It was not communicated very well that she would have to wait until the duathletes were on their bikes before she left. So, she didn't drive and opted for the shuttle. Which leads me to:
2) Volunteers need to be better trained, and more hospitable. Her shuttle got lost which resulted in her not being able to see any of the three of us (2 friends and me) transition at T2, run, or even finish. Her 35-40 minute ride turned into 1 hour 10 minutes. There was no communication from her driver on what was going on, and although many people on the bus were trying to help give directions, the driver wasn't listening. There were some people on the bus who's spouses and significant others were doing their first triathlon, and they didn't get to see them finish. My friend wanted to enter T2 to see if his wife's bike was in yet (not retrieve it or anything) so that he would know if she was on the run course or not. The volunteers were letting others in to get stuff out, but my friend was told somewhat rudely that he could not enter to look for her bike.
3) Could you find a better spot for the food, or communicate its location better? We knew there was food, but did not know where it was or how to get there. There was not a good path from the finish area/spectator area to the food. We cut through transition. Some signs with a clearly marked path would have been better.

All in all, the volunteers were mostly very nice and helpful especially given the rainy conditions (with exceptions noted above).

I don't think I will do this race again because the fun of the course was negated by the logistical headaches.