Kiawah Island Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

It was really wierd to swim straight for so long - it made the swim seem very LONG. Starting the swim, I immediately felt my timing chip coming loose (I thought of Brett losing his at Peachtree City). I grabbed it off my ankle and then realized I did NOT want to swim with it in my hand for the next 30 minutes. I remembered I had a zippered pocket in my tri shorts, so I shoved it in there and zippered it closed. The rest of the swim was good, my form and breathing felt great. I was actually surprised at the (small) number of people left in the ocean (there were a ton of fast people in this race).

There was also a LONG run from the beach to T1 and the timing mat - and a good portion was on soft sand which made it slower. It was only 34:30 when I got out of the ocean - so it took me some time to get to the mat.

Learn how to "dolphin dive" into the ocean for the start. I lost time fighting against the waves going out. Oh - and maybe bring my own smaller chip "holder" to the race, it was too big to not come apart in the water - which then I wasted time stopping and figuring out what to do with it.

Used my "shoebox" of water to get all the sand off my feet and quick wipe of towel. I'm really glad I had my water at this race, it would have been REALLY uncomfortable without it. Had a little trouble getting my bike out, since it wasn't really racked. Decent transition.

No splits for transitions - I guess the times for T1 are rolled into bike split.

Have an actual rack for my bike.

Felt really queesy at the beginning of the bike (maybe from the ocean - did I drink too much ocean water?), so I didn't push as hard as possible. I actually had random thoughts of stopping when I got back to the park turn, but I obviously didn't do that. I just focused on keeping my cadence up and drinking every 10 minutes. Ate my gel at 50 minutes (planned at 1hr) and started to feel better. I did notice that my hip flexors started hurting a little on the ride, but it seemed to go away by the end.

By the time I got off Kiawah Island, I felt pretty good again. Lost my straw and sponge about 15 minutes from the end, when I hit a pothole (I think that's what it was) - oh well. I figured since it wasn't a USAT race, I wasn't going to stop and get it. I saw a couple of "big" drafting groups on the course - it wasn't USAT regulated, but it was stated that drafting was still illegal. With no one to enforce it though, I don't think they cared. Good bike course, overall. I checked my average pace as I was entering T2 and was shocked to see it over 17mph! :)

Not much - this was a pretty strong bike for me!

Put my bike against the sand gate this time, as it was easier. Ripped off bike shoes and stepped into socks and running shoes. Yelled to Kirk that my average was over 17 mph and I wished I had another gel, then headed to the run exit.

No splits for transitions - I guess the times for T2 are rolled into run split.

Bring another gel. I only trained to have 1, but I really wanted another one today.

Before the start of the race, I had only planned on walking water stops. At the start of the run, I decided I was going to take a quick walk break at each mile market (it was extra motivation that I needed, I think part of this was due to my energy lagging - could have used that extra gel). It worked pretty well, I kept my walk breaks short and then only walked through water stops. I poured cold water on my head at almost every stop - and there were plenty! I was very happy with how cold the water was, usually by the time I get there it's almost warm.

I would like to remind everyone that I have walked 70-90% of the run in my last two Olys. I only walked maybe 10% today - I'd say that's a HUGE improvement!!

Obviously I lost time walking a little after each mile marker, but I think it helped me today. I'd like to get away from this approach in the future, though.

Crossed the finish line and walked for a second before sitting down. I was so happy to be finished and very happy with my performance. At my last two Olys I was pretty miserable and disappointed at this time - today I was excited and smiling! :) Got pasta, couldn't eat it, so I gave it to Kirk. Ate a couple of orea-like cookies - those were good. Stretched and then headed to pack up transition.


I'm happy - not overanalyzing this race. If you factor out the extra bike mileage, this is over 20 minutes faster than my last Oly! Even with the extra bike mileage, this is over 10 minutes faster. I'd say having a coach (thanks Brett!!) is WELL worth the money! :)


The beginning of the race was chaos - anyone and their brother was allowed in transition and the lack of racks was annoying and frustrating. Race announcements were late, walk to beach was late, a little frustrated at the start. I'm also annoyed that there are no splits for transitions - it makes it harder to break down my performance.

After that, the course was great - well staffed, plenty of people directing traffic, and the volunteers were great. I liked the course and I would like to do the race again. I wish they would become a USAT race in the future and fix the racking situation. I still liked the race overall, though, and would do it again because I liked the location and the course.