Emerald Isle Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

This swim was very difficult for me. I have NEVER swam in the ocean before other than body surfing as a kid. The surf was pretty rough during the race, and I got rocked pretty hard heading to the first buoy. The first wave I tried to dive into, I caught the brunt of it right in the face and got knocked onto my back. I got back up and kept swimming, but was having a hard time of it. I even switched to breast stroke breifly to sight over the big swells. Once I finally reached the first buoy, I calmed down and things got easier. We were out of the big swells and able to swim a little easier. We also had the current on our side. It was hard to sight the second buoy because of the sun, and I heard one of the surfers telling us to swim towards the sun. It turned out to be the perfect line. After rounding the last buoy, I was able to catch a few waves into shore. I was exhausted when I got out of the water. Overall, I think I did alright for my first ocean swim. It definately favored those who train in the ocean. I do think the swim was a little short. It was listed as a 750, but I think it may have more like 600 or 650.

Train in the ocean, but that's a long way for me to drive.

I was pretty tired when I exited the water. After hitting shore, we had to run back down the beach and up the ramp to the transition area. They had a bucket for us to rinse our feet off at the top of the ramp. The race didn't sell out, so there were way more racks than participants, so I had to run a pretty good ways through transition to get to my bike. My wetsuit came off pretty easily and I got my helmet and shoes on quickly before heading out on the bike. I was pretty pleased with this transition.

Get a pair of tri shoes and work on mounting my bike and getting into shoes while riding.

Got up to speed fairly quick, but didn't get into aero as quickly as I should have. It probably cost me around 10 seconds overall. I felt good about my ride, but the cars in town slowed me down. I didn't always have room to get around them, and I had to slow down for one of them that was turning in front of me. Once we turned around, I didn't have any other cars slowing me down. I passed a lot of people on the bike, but only got passed once. The guy was on a relay team, and was wearing a full time-trialing skin suit and aero helmet. He ended up riding faster than anyone. Overall, I was happy with the ride.

Get into aero a little quicker. Invest in a more advanced bike.

When I rode back past the condos right before the ocean access, I pulled my feet out of my shoes and got ready to dismount. I hopped off and ran across the timing mat with my bike. I racked the bike, and realized that I had forgotten to pre-tie my running shoes again. I pulled them on, tied them quickly, grabbed my hat and number and headed out.

PRE-TIE my freakin' shoes, or at least get some yanks so I don't have to. Other than that, it was a good transition.

The run was awesome. I was in high spirits seeing that I had one of the first bikes back in transition. I started out with a good pace, and kept going hard. I passed a few people, but was never passed. As I came back toward 25th Street, I saw a guy in front of me, and decided I would pass him. I ran as hard as I could and passed him in the last 100 yards. As it turned out, that pass put me in third rather than fourth in my age group. I felt great about the run. I had the best run in my age group!

I guess just drop some pounds so I can run faster. I'm over 200 lbs, so I could register as a Clydesdale if I chose to. I've been over 200 for every race this year, and placed in the top 5 in my age group every time, making the podium twice. If I had registered as a Clydesdale, I would have won every single time. While winning would have been awesome, it wouldn't have given me anything to strive for. As an age grouper, I push hard to keep up with the top guys,and sometimes I can't. That just gives me more incentive to train harder.

Not much of one. Just walked around, ate a slice of pizza, drank some water and recoverite, and waited for the awards ceremony. Watched Brian finish, and then he and I hung around with the family until after we got our medals.


Not training in the ocean, having a less advanced bike, and having a few extra lbs on my frame.


This race was pretty good, but it definately seemed more like a first year event rather than an event that's been around for eight years. The time delay seemed really unprofessional, and there were not enough volunteers. Many of the volunteers actually seemed like they didn't know the course or what their job was. There weren't any signs directing us to anything, and there definatley needed to be more people on the bike course to help stop traffic for us. Overall, it was a decent race, but after competing in some events organized by Set Up Events, it's hard not to compare everything else to them. I definately had fun.