Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon - International Course - TriathlonOlympic

This was my first race in a wetsuit. I'm glad I had it because of the temperature and the added buoyancy. I do think I needed more practice in it as I only swam about 150 yards in it the week before the race. Even though we were in waves, the waves were huge so there were a ton of people. It took me a while to get comfortable. After I finally did, I would get into a decent groove, but someone would swim in front of me or I had to make a turn around a buoy. I'm sure it was nervous, temperature, etc. but I couldn't get my every third stroke breathing down, so I just took a breath every other stroke on the same side. This did not aide in not swimming straight. At the first buoy, there was a kayak stopped with a lot of people hanging on for dear life. I'm thankful I was paying attention because I literally had to stop, change course and swim around the kayak. Every time I tried to draft it didn't work well. Pace wasn't right, I didn't keep the right line, etc. Bottom line, I could have done tons better on this swim. I did ok for the training I put in, but my comfort and success in the water has been lacking over the last coupe of events.

Put more swim time in. Practice more OWS, specifically in my wetsuit.

T1 was a long way from the swim exit. That, coupled with having to remove a wetsuit made for a long transition. I began running to T1 right out of the water. The zipper on my wetsuit must have got caught on my tri tank (which was under my suit). A guy helped me get it unstuck and I was able to starting running again and take my arms out. It took me at least 2 min of my T1 time to get to the TA. When I got to my rack, I sat down and pulled off my wetsuit, which didn't come off easily (I wish they would have had wetsuit strippers). Then, I put my socks, shoes and jacket on (I made a last minute decision to only wear my jacket and not my long sleeve shirt plus the jacket). I put my helmet on, grabbed my bike and began to run out of T1. Right out of T1 there was a big hill but I was still able to jump on my bike and get clipped in pretty well while going up the hill. I saw several who just decided to walk their bikes to the top of the hill before trying to mount. I passed them. 36/69 in my AG in T1. I'm not sure how they did it, but there were 6 people in my AG with T1 times less than 3 min. That is pretty impressive.

Maybe try some body glide or something to help me get my suit off quicker. I was really expecting a longer T1 because of the distance from the water and because I was wearing a wetsuit. This time is within my expectations.

Could have pushed myself a little more, but wanted to save some for the run. I saw KP about mile 12 just before the turn-around. It took me about 8 miles to catch him after that. Turns out we were going about the same speed. I had two GUs, about 20 oz of Gatorade, and half a bottle of water on the bike, which turned out to be perfect nutrition. I didn't wish I had more and it fueled me well into the run.

Maybe try to push a bit harder, although I'm pretty satisfied with this bike considering the hills. I was lower in my AG than I would have liked, so maybe I need to push myself a little more on the bike. Average pace in my AG was approximately 19 mph.

I came into T2 probably 1 minute or less before KP did and left about the same. I practiced getting out of my shoes while riding so I could dismount and run in socks to my rack. This worked well as I passed a few who stopped to dismount and/or were running in bike shoes. The entry into T2 was a big downhill so when I jumped off my bike, I had to slow down considerably so I wasn't sprinting. It was awkward, but overall went very well. It was a tight squeeze to get my bike racked, so that took an extra second to get done. Also, I debated whether or not to wear my jacket on the run. After hesitating, I decided to take it off and just run in my tri tank. I also grabbed a GU and stuck it in the side of my shorts to have on the run in case I needed it. I was 26/69 in my AG on T2 time. I was about 30 seconds faster than the average. I am pleased with this time as my rack was on the opposite side from the run out.

Not much. Very pleased with this transition.

After beginning the run with numb toes, I felt very strong. I started with a good pace and increased as I found someone to pace/draft off of. I looked at my watch and I had a sub-8 pace, so I decided to back off. I could have kept up this pace for the majority of the run, but in the heat of it that was the best decision as it was around the 2 mi mark. I ran very strong the entire run, despite the very hilly course. Toward the end, I increased my pace about mile 5.9. Right after I did, I remembered it was a 6.2 mile run not 6, so I slowed down slightly. Then I hit the downhill heading back into the parking lot so I picked up pace again. I sprinted at the very end and passed a guy one step before the finish line. I left it all on the course and finished strong. I did not take water or anything on the run and it was just right. Overall, this was the best run I think I've had in a tri before. I did a ton of bricks heading into this event trying to be prepared for a tough run and it paid off.

Nothing. I'm very pleased with this run.

Got some Gatorade and water. Walked around a little and waited for KP, who finished about 5 min after me.


Limited wetsuit experience in the water. I held back a bit on the bike, but it paid off on the run. Maybe there is a happy medium to pushing a bit harder on the bike and still having a great run. TBD


This was a great race. Very well organized and plenty of course support. This was by far the biggest tri I've done and it was a lot of fun. Great schwag. I would do this race again.