Turtle Crawl Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Before the race started the director told everyone the water temp was 80 degrees which made it wetsuit optional. I thought there was no way the water was that warm but they said it was 80 both times they tested it. At the shore it probably was that warm but further out I'm sure it was cooler.

I decided to wear the wetsuit after I saw how choppy the water was. The wind was probably blowing a steady 25+ mph and the waves were huge. I knew I wasn't a contender for an award so I wore it anyway. It wasn't so much a factor of being cold even if the water was in the 70's, but it was so choppy and the current was so strong I didn't want to worry about having a problem.

This was a time trial start and we lined up in two's by our numbers. We waited for our turn, got to the front and they told us to go and we took off running towards the water way to the left of where the buoy was. The first part of this swim was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done. I tried to swim freestyle and everytime I went to breathe my timing would be off and a wave would come and I'd swallow a bunch of water. I finally gave that up and switched to breastroke and saw the buoy was still really far away and to my left. I had to swim my hardest to fight the current and swim diagonally to get to the first buoy. I didn't think I was going to make it out there and I was so relieved to go around that first yellow buoy. Then it was straight over to the next one and with the current it didn't take any time. I was swimming over and rolling with the waves. Made the second one in no time and had to turn towards the shore. I heard a kayaker blowing their whistle telling people to turn and swim straight to the beach. I swam as hard as I could because all I wanted to do was get out of the water.

I made it to shallow water and stood up and ran to the shore. I looked at my watch and it said 22 minutes, I couldn't believe it because it felt like I'd been out there for an eternity. Ran through a tide pool and took off my wetsuit; it was easier there because my feet were still wet and I was standing in water. Picked it up and ran up the beach. Dan was there yelling at me and we ran up the beach, up the boardwalk ramp, stepped in a baby pool of water to wash my feet off and ran towards transition.

There's nothing I could have done differently. I swam as hard as I could with the crazy surf conditions. Maybe I wouldn't have worn the wetsuit but I was freaked out with how choppy the water was and since it was my first race with an ocean swim I felt more comfortable wearing it. I think there were some people who didn't go around both buoys but I know I did and I'm happy with my time.

No problems here. I had already taken off my wetsuit so I ran to my bike and layed it down on my towel with my stuff. Put on my bike shoes, sunglasses and helmet and then unracked my bike.

Nothing, I think this went smoothly. I had to run all the way to the back of the transition area to my rack.

Right out of transition the course started at an exposed area with the cross-winds coming off the beach. At times it was very strong and the best speed I could manage was 15.5 mph. All I could think for those 2 miles was how much the bike leg was going to suck if the crosswinds continued. I finally reached a residential area that was protected from the wind and was able to pick up speed.

I could comfortably sustain 18+ mph on this course and was happy with my ride. I only got passed by 3 men on road bikes, everyone else who passed me was on a tri bike but I didn't get passed by many. I had planned to take a gel almost right away but with the wind I didn't feel comfortable doing it right away so I decided to take one at miles 5 and 20. Near the end of the first lap I also took a bottle of gatorade at the bike aid table but could only manage a couple of sips before I put it in my bottle cage.

Nothing. I am happy with my time and the average speed I was able to maintain. That's the fastest time and speed I've done that distance. Not too bad for my 20-ish pound road bike with clip-on aerobars.

This was a good transition too. I was very close to the bike start and finish so I didn't have far to go. Instead of trying to keep my balance I sat down and rolled on my socks and shoes. Stood up and put on my visor and started jogging and putting on my race belt.

Nothing really. I think this is a decent transition time since I sat down and put on socks and shoes.

I started the run feeling great. I reached the first mile marker in just under 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I was feeling great and saw the time on my watch and thought if I could keep a similar pace I'd have no problem reaching my goal of breaking 3 hours. I reached mile 2 in about 10:30. I wasn't concerned and still thought I could at least match my best 10k time of 1:05. There wasn't any shade and decided to stop at every water stop and take a quick walk break. There were water tables at almost every mile. Approaching mile 3 I was not feeling as strong. I didn't think I'd ever make it to the turn around as tons of people were coming at me towards the finish. I got passed by a couple people as I started to slow down. I finally made the turn around point and couldn't believe I still had to run back 3.1 miles. I felt like I hit the wall, not bonked but ran out of gas. I continued to run the rest of the way but when I got back to the path by the beach I could sort of see the finish area and it was still 2 miles away. I kept running but at a slower pace than I had hoped, but still happy to be running and not walking. I tried to pick up my pace in the last mile but I couldn't do it. As I was approaching the finish line in the last 1/2 mile I had to stop and take 2 quick walk breaks. I wasn't sure if I could run the rest of the way and somehow I managed to make my legs keep moving and run towards the finish. I knew I missed my goal of breaking 3 hours but it was close, at that point I didn't really care.

I think I should have taken a gel around mile 2. I started the run feeling great and I just ran out of gas. I had breakfast at 5 am so by the time I got to the run my stomach was empty and the gels were gone. I really think that another gel would have helped, even if it would have only been a mental boost. I was able to run almost the entire way, except for walking at the aid stations, which was my goal. All week I had been concerned about the run and this time matches my slowest 10k that I ran last November.

Walked around, ate a bagel, drank a bottle of water and some Gatorade (not a good choice). Tried to keep my stomach from churning after the Gatorade, I should have stuck with water but it soon settled down. Checked out the Nest Fest for Sea Turtles and waited for the results to be reposted. They printed the results and posted them on the wall near the finish every 15 minutes or so.


Genetics? The surf was crazy choppy and I did the best I could with that, my bike leg was strong but the run hurt my time. I think I just ran out of gas and I'm actually surprised I could keep moving because I didn't think I had it in me.


This was a great race. Once again, GA Multisports put on a first-class race. I can't say enough good things about this race production company. They thought of everything: the transition area had lights when it was still dark, plenty of helpful volunteers, water and gatorade at every aid station, mile markers at every mile on the bike and run, large signs at either end of transition for the run and the bike (no confusion on which way to go) and results posted at the end of the race. The only thing they didn't have was alot of post-race food; our only options were cookies and bagels w/cream cheese. The swim was crazy but they don't have any control over people who missed buoys, the waves were so big I don't think the people in kayaks could see everyone. I would definitely do this race again and it's a course primed for a PR.