Rumpus in Bumpass International - TriathlonOlympic

Since this was my first open water swim ever, I didn't know what to expect. I knew I was probably going to inhale a half gallon of h20 and get kicked but surprisingly I didn't get much of either.

I was in the last wave of swimmers and once I heard the horn blow I just took off. I thought I was moving pretty quickly for the first couple hundred yards. I strayed off track a little but i corrected it. Once i got to the first turn, I realized I had caught up to the groups in front of me.

The one thing I was worried about was pace, but I just kept chugging along. Water was nice and clear and I could clearly see/feel when I was on someone's ass. It was easy to sight

Sight a little more and kick. I realized I wasn't kicking for the majority of the swim. I could've improved some time there I'm sure. I got into a good rhythm through and kept with it

Man that transition was a little slow for me. I nearly ate shit on the stairs leading out of the water. I ran to T1 and immediately felt how lightheaded I was (prob was the adrenaline of finishing the swim so quickly). I dried off quickly and had a little trouble getting the wetsuit off of my heels (always so much easier when you're practicing) but I began to make my way and put my cleats on before leaving T1. As soon as a started leaving I realized I didn't have my timing chip on my ankle. I ran 20 yards back to my area, located the chip, and put that back on pronto. Made my way out of T1 and up the hill onto the road and ran and jumped on my bike smoothly.

Make sure I have my timing chip before I leave to go on the bike. That cost me some time. I can practice having my shoes attached to my bike in the future. I could do without putting on socks for 30 seconds too.

I felt most confident on my bike. I thought I was at an advantage with a slick 2009 Kestrel Talon I just purchased a few weeks back..but let me tell you it was pretty sick hearing these sooped up Cervelo's and what not come FLYING past me. Made me laugh and shake my head. I started talking to a nice guy named Brian (I think) who said this was a training tri for Eagleman coming up. Rode with him for about 4 miles until I said goodbye and passed him at the beginning of the second leg. My lower back was killing me though for the latter lap

I think I could've biked a little harder. I didn't really know what to expect. I was able to actually talk to myself the whole time so I know I wasn't super fatigued. I'd like to drive around the course before I do another tri

Ran down the hill with other bikers. Pretty easy transition. Just had to put on running belt and switch shoes. But there's always room for improvement

Might wear the belt while biking to save some time

Definitely tough to settle in. By the start of the run I realized how tired I was but all I wanted to do was settle in. Running is not my strong suit at all but I was able to find my breathing and cadence around 1.5-2 miles and go from there. It was nice having a cheering squad to help me go. The second lap came and went...

Use my arms and my long ass legs to my advantage. I'm 6'4 and need to be taking longer strides. I realized that on my way back up the hill towards the finish that I was taking just as many steps as the 5'9 dude in front of me. I can definitely, DEFINITELY, run faster than 7.5 minutes/mile

walked around, stretched, a lot of fist pumping for kicking ass.


I could practice transitions and run a lot more...for the last 3 months of training I maybe ran 10 times.


Like I said above, I had no idea what to expect time wise and was shooting for about 2:30. I shattered that by going 2:25. I felt super good for the swim and bike. Andddd I came in 1st among all the novice so it was nice winning something.

Can't wait to compete again. Probably the best feeling rounding that corner and into the finishing chute to everybody cheering me on.