Deuces Wild - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

felt much better than my first OWS race in March. I was breathing only on my right side, which was ok since the shore was there so I could monitor my course. I was pretty good about lifting my head about every 2-3 strokes to re-sight on the buoys. I stopped once to rinse my goggles out because they were too foggy to see, but that was before the first turn and they were fine the rest of the way. I even used the turn technique an OWS friend showed me a few weeks ago at a practice swim to round the buoys.

maybe push my arms a bit more. I took it pretty easy since I didn't want to burn out too soon, but putting a bit more work on my arms wouldn't have hurt my performance the rest of the race.

I got winded running to T1 due to the altitude and a bit of a climb from the lake. This made it hard to try and eat anything like I had planned. Wetsuit strippers made easy work of the wetsuit.

walk the hill to T1 so I could eat a bit more before the bike.
reapply sunscreen.

I didn't find the aid station with food, but I didn't stop to ask either.
I drove the course before the race and was deceived by the hills near the end that looked easier from the car than they were on the bike. Had my avg speed up to 18 mph till I got to the later hills.

take more food with me.
more hill/strength training.

New cleats on my bike shoes were slippery and I almost fell.
took my time, but I didn't get a T2 split and I don't know if this time is in my bike or run leg. I changed from bike jersey to running singlet.

reapply sunscreen.
get a tri-shirt to wear for both bike and run.

Altitude combined with mental exhaustion slowed me down by more than I had expected.

mentally push harder

mental exhaustion. lack of nutrition on the bike.


The post-race lunch had run out of chips by the time I got done. I think that was one of the worst problems, so I would rate this a pretty good event. Definitely on my "try again" list.