Nautica South Beach Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Prior to the race start it kind of hit me that I was actually participating to raise money for St Jude Children's Hospital in memory of a young boy from our youth group who had recentl passed away. It was pretty emotional and sobering all at once. The start was unusually slow due to the very shallow water and most of the people in front of the wave just walked in. The first 75 was mostly walked. I was woried about my sighting and decided to swim with pack from my wave start. As it turned out - my sighting was not that bad.

Probably should have started closer tot he front. Really should have been swimming at a more aggressive pace instead of hanging back in the pack.

Transition was very slow. Partly due to the size of the area and the traffic of people walking the bikes out to the street. I downed a gel and grabbed some water - but overall was taking my time trying to conserve some energy and get my HR slowed.

I was not too happy with how my transiotion area was set up. Slighly on a hill and half on the sidewalk. I would do a better job at selection and positioning of my equipment.

I felt pretty good overall on the bike despite thatit was only the 4th time ever on a tri bike. Rode aero for almost the entire race. Shifting was annoying in that I got stuck in the big chain ring and could not shift down to get over the causeway hills. Rear shifting was not good typically jumping two gears at a time. I had to double shift almost every time.

Felt pretty strong for the first 20 miles, but started to tire and get leg cramps a coupl miles before the finish. Had some pretty good cramping going on as I jumped off the bike.

1) Get the shifting adjusted properly
2) Spend more time in the saddle prior to the race (hard because it was freezing in NY)
3) Figure out a way to get acclimated to the 40 degree temperature difference

Started the transition with cramped legs so took some extra time getting ready for the run. Drank and took a gel. I knew the run was going to be trouble.

Not sure - I could have gotten out much quicker but that might just have hastened my eventual over heating on the run. Perhaps having some cool water to start or pour over me would have helped a bit.

I was just plain overheating. I could not get enough water in me to make a difference. I was not prepared for the huge temperature difference. Drank consistently along the way as well as doing some Gu Chomps.

I really should have been taking water and dumping it on my head to cool down. I have no idea why I did not think of that during the race. Run is and will always be my weakness. I can not run any more that once a week so it is hard to train for these events.

Ice cold towels on my head and shoulders. Walked around a bit to try to cool down as I was definitely close to total heat exhaustion.

Met up with Jay Hatch. After about 10 minutes felt pretty chipper.


The heat was killer for me. Plus my run training is extremely limted due to the knee problems.


Definitely enjoyed the overall experience despite it being so far from home. Doubtful that I could pull that off again - but will consider it.