Tri the Parks - John Tanner State Park - TriathlonSprint

All things considered - first tri, first OWS in competition - I was pleased with this swim. Based upon feedback from lots of folks who've "been there, done that," I deliberately placed myself in the back of the pack and eased into the water when our wave started. The first 200M went well and I felt good. In fact, after the first 100M, I started catching the people who went out too fast. I managed to get "stuck" behind two guys doing breast stroke and couldn't get around them easily; finally one guy moved a bit ahead of the other and I squeezed through the opening, made the turn around the buoy and continued on my way. On the back side of the course, I had a clear route. My crawl stroke felt good, my sighting was accurate and pretty efficient, and I was even able to breathe bi-lateral as well.

Maybe put myself in the middle of the group next time. Otherwise, I was very pleased with this effort. I've only been swimming seriously since Jan. and most of my work to this point has been volume-based; now it's time to focus on adding a bit of speed to the equation.

T1 was good. I made the jog from the lake not feeling too worse for wear. I'd managed to get the wetsuit down to my waist, so it was simply a matter of finishing the process of removal once at my stall. This went well (though the suit stuck on my left heel for a brief moment), I put on my helmet, sunglasses, and cycling shoes and was on my way.

For my first "T1," I felt like this one went pretty well.

This part of the race was interesting. I wasn't passed by anybody during this segment of the race (unless you want to count the one guy who passed me just as we approached T2) and I did pass a ton of people from beginning to end, yet my bike segment was slow relative to what I believe I'm capable of doing. I didn't feel particularly fast, but I didn't feel slow either.

Try and get in more road rides earlier in the season. I did a lot of work on the Silver Comet Trail the past few months and very little on the rolling hills near my home. I need to be out on the rolling hills earlier in the season and more often.

Dismounted prior to the yellow line, walked/jogged the bike to the rack and racked it, removed shades and helmet, put on shoes, grabbed race belt, and was on my way.

For my first "T2," I felt like this one went pretty well.

Not a great run, not a bad run. The run course was nice and didn't bother me until the final hill leading to the turn-around point.

Need to do more speed work.

Reconnected with my non-BT pals - Corey, Jeff, and Jay - and also saw David, Greg, Susan, Amy, and a few other people I know. After saying "hey," packed up my t-bag and loaded the van with the guys. Then, enjoyed a well-earned Sam Adams, ate some pretzels, etc. After this we walked over to the picnic area and I ate some orange slices, a banana, drank some water and hung out to watch the awards (Jay placed in his AG).


It was my first tri. After experiencing the "real thing," I'd say my biggest limiter is me and time. I've got a baseline now and this'll help me focus my efforts.


Blue Sky Sports did a great job with this race and I've heard they do a great job with all of their races. I really enjoyed it and look forward to participating in others later this season.