TriRock Philadelphia - Olympic Course - Triathlon

I was glad it was wetsuit legal. I was prepared to go without but the extra level of mental security was appreciated. The current appeared to be very low. The kayakers barely moved in the water. In general I couldn't ask for a better first triathlon swim. The TT start was great, marked great, no chop and very little contact. I really took it easy. I wanted to ensure that I did not get myself out of breath during the swim. It worked. I exited the water barely breathing hard.

Now that I know what to expect, I would push harder in similar conditions. I could have swam more with intensity. It was a really good swim for me since I am new to swimming.

This was my biggest problem area. I got severe ab and hamstring cramps for unknown reasons. I spent nearly 4 mins strteching. The guy next to me thought I was having a heart attack and kept offering to get medical. Don't know what happened but I thought I might DNF. Fortunately I worked out the cramps and slowly finished the transition.

Not sure. I may have screwed up my hydration with way too much water leading into the event. I need to figure this out. This cost me 4 mins which is huge.

Bike felt good. I started out cautiosly because of the cramps in T1 but did not feel them so I opened up. This was my planned pace so I was ok with the results. Allot of riders out of position (on the left) which was a pain since I was trying to avoid passing on right and drafting penalties.

I would ride about 10% harded next time.

Good transition until port-o-pot stop. I urinated for over 2 mins and this more than doubled my T2. T1 and T2 "issues" added over 6 mins to my time.

Need to fix hydration issues to avoid transition delays.

Run was good until I hit the sun. I mostly run on a treadmill to preserve my knees. I do have experience running in the heat, but the last couple miles took it out of me. My pace dropped significantly.

More running in the sun? Not sure.

Little stretching and driinking. Not too much


Lack of experience and I have to sort out the reason for the cramping and hydrate more effectively.


Nothing to compare it to but I thought it was run great. A couple little nits but nothing worth mentioning. Very pleased with my first tri. I wanted to be sub-3 hours and finished 2:51. Without the T1 and T2 issues I could have easily been 5 or 6 minutes faster so I am pleased.