Escape From Fort Desoto - Triathlon

Great swim conditions!!! Water was just cold enough for a wetsuit, which with a half mile swim was a huge bonus. No waves, no wind, and crystal clear water. That being said, I didn't have a great swim. Right goggle lens filled with water almost immediately, had to stop and stand up to empty out the water. Continued to leak the rest of the swim. Also, felt like I couldn't stay on the buoys. Kept sighting to my left, kept drifting to my right. Also never really got into a good breathing rhythm.

GET NEW GOGGLES!!!

NEW ASPHALT!!!! Best part of the day.

Nothing, this is where this race was won. Between T1 & T2, I built up the gap needed to hold off the 2nd place finisher.

I was disappointed in my ride. When I drove onto the island at 5 am and saw the big flag just hanging there, not waving, I expected to hit 22+ on the bike. The 21.36 is off because the actual distance was only 9.5 miles. That left me with a 20.3 mph average. I felt like I just couldn't get going.

EDIT: The Monday after this race I had a sidewall blowout on my rear tire (same ones I raced on). When I brought my bike to the LBS, it was also discovered that I had a bearing in my front hub that was crushed and a dent in the hub body. Prior to the blowout, I felt like I was riding on a tire with a flat spot. This could explain the sluggish feel during the race.

Have to remember to skip the sunglasses with the visor on the new helmet. One or the other but not both. Also, the new helmet's chinstrap is hard to unbuckle with one hand. Just wait until bike is racked to unclip it.

Nothing, very happy with both transitions.

I SUCK AT RUNNING!!! I've never been fast, but this is ridiculous. Fat, out of shape, and injured, is not the way to race.

Get diet under control. Lose weight. Take care of this nagging heel. Run more.

After downing a cold water, I made my way to the Bike In area to cheer on the last cyclist, a wounded Vet racing on a hand bike. As we were clapping and cheering him on, he rolls past the dismount line and gives us a salute. On of the coolest moments of my triathlon career. After that, I made my way back to the finish line area for some pictures with our RYDER BIKES team and 2 of our friends that had been hit while participating in a charity ride 3 weeks earlier. Both were scheduled to race this event, but are unable to because of injuries


Lack of conditioning on the run and overweight.


Could have used a few more aid stations on the run, especially with a 3.5 mile run.