Black Bear Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

I was in wave 4 which was the last Sprint wave. The Half guys were starting 15 minutes after us, so i definitely wanted to be out of the water and transition by the time those animals came barreling through.

While on the beach I was talking to a guy who would end up winning the swim for our wave. I told him it was my first and he gave me a high five and a bunch of pointers. He also saw me wave to my wife and kids and proceed to yell to them "we've got a virgin here!!!". It was great.

Luckily, my wave looked relatively small compared to the others. Probably about 40 of us. This was great as there was plenty of room and no jockeying. I didn't touch anyone the whole swim. Barely even got near anyone except one guy who crossed right in front of me about 20 yards before the first bouy. I had a pretty tight angle on the turn, so i don't know where he was going. Maybe he was in some other race :).

What a rush coming out of the water and running up the hill. It went from total silence with my head under water to cowbells and screaming.

The run from the beach to the transition must have been 1/8 mile or more up hill. Once out of site of the crowds I started walking to get my hr down. Then I heard my wife and daughter yelling for me to "GOOOOO!". They were running up the hill after me - wife had the baby in the backpack and the four year old was booking. At that point I had to say screw the hr and run for the girls.

Not much. My sighting was good, and I felt very comfortable. Things will probably change when I get in with a bigger crowd and take a few kicks, but I was happy with my performance, especially for my first OWS.

I thought the transition went smooth. Wetsuit came off fine with body-glide on the ankles. Put on socks and shirt. Bike shoes on (i'll try running mount next time). Tried sunglasses, but they fogged up instantly so just left them around neck. And I was off.

Looking back at the results, this is where i gave up a good amount of time. Gave up almost 2 minutes to the clyde leaders here. I must've looked like I was having a day at the beach, with my towel out, sitting down, taking my sweet time. I'll definitely work on this.



try no socks. Get tri top to wear under wetsuit. No sit down. figure out sunglasses. get position closer to exit or entrance. Running mount with bike shoes already attached to bike.

I have a feeling from what everyone was saying at this race that this bike course is going to go down as legendary. I look forward to hearing what the guys and gals that did the half-iron have to say. That must've been brutal.

Hilly is an understatement. My average speed was officially 16.2mph but I don't think i did 16.2 all that much during the race. It seemed like it was either 5mph or 40mph and in the end it just averaged out to 16.2.

I'm riding a mountain bike and I'm 6'5". I'm the opposite of aero. I'm like one of those tall ships with it's full sails out, catching every bit of wind near me. I still managed to hit a max speed of 42mph. I can't imagine what the aero guys did.

I felt strong on the bike. I passed alot of folks from earlier waves and really didn't get passed except for maybe 3 or 4 guys (mostly due to the fact i was in the last wave, i'm sure). I did alot of back and forth with a group of about 5 guys. I just didn't have gears to keep up on some of the flats, but i could catch them on the ups or the steep downs where I just tucked as much as I could and bombed. There were alot of white knuckles showing going down these hills around blind corners.

I really enjoyed this bike course. I found myself hootin and hollering like a kid on some of those downhills. The only thing I worried about was how my legs would hold up for the run, because they were really burning at times.

Hire a sherpa.
Get a road bike.
Bring a second bottle of fluids for such a hilly course. I was 3/4 through mine by mile 10 and had to slow my intake down.

Gave up another minute to the others here. Call me molasses man.

dismount out of shoes.
Get some yankz laces.
don't chit chat with family!

As soon as we peeled out of transition we were on a shaded trail. There was one steep hill, but the rest was rolling. The highlight of the run was crossing over two huge dams. Very intense.

I felt great in the beginning of the run. I think I passed about ten people early. Then i hit that hill and realized I better calm it down a little. I continued to pass a few more and was not passed by anyone. I was wearing my TNT shirt and got a bunch of folks cheering me on for that which was nice.

At about the 2.25 mile mark i saw two guys that i recognized from the swim start that were in my wave way ahead. I made it my goal to pass them which I did just before the 3 mile mark. That was a great goal because it gave me something to focus on other than the discomfort that was setting in. After I passed them I had about a 1/2 mile to go and it was the first time I actually considered walking as I started to feel really fatigued.

Then I started to hear the finish line announcer and the crowd and that was all I needed. One really loud guy was at the turn right before the 75 yard finish chute and he was basically yelling "suck it up and give it all you have" so that's what I did.

The finish chute was all up hill, and there was one guy ahead of me that I decided I was going to pass. I hear the announcer say "We've got a pass going on..." just as I was about to take this guy. We'll he wanted nothing of it and turned on the jets. We had an all out sprint for about 40 yards, neck and neck, and went over the line side by side. As soon as we crossed the line we both turned to each other with huge smiles and gave the biggest high five we could. All ticker for both of us and a great finish.

Wouldn't take the opportunity to taste test HEED for the first time during a race. Too sweet for me and i missed my mouth with half of it getting muy sticky.

Had the fastest run time out of the big boy class so that was a real positive.

Immediately after the race my daughter was so excited to see me she wanted to go play at the playground, go down to the beach, do "fun kid stuff". I was like "honey, Daddy's got to rest just a little bit before he plays". So I convinced her to let me cheer on a few finishers and rest. Then I got some of the free buffet food and walked around in a bit of a daze.

I definitely need to drink more during the race. My pee was the color of a Vegas casino sign when i was done. I probably wouldn't have made it if the run was too much longer.


Transitions!! I felt fast but when i look at the results it shows i was a snail compared to the others. If i had the same transition splits as the 2nd place clyde I would have had 2nd myself. I missed 3rd by just 21 seconds. Gotta work the transitions! I'm not beating myself up over it, though, as it was a great learning experience and an absolute BLAST.

And, i have to think a road bike would shave a bunch of time, but who knows on those hills. Gotta convince the wife to let me go shopping.


Loved this race. CGI was great. I predict this will sell out next year when the word gets out.

Wish they had a little more for the kids to do while moms and dads are racing. A moon bounce would have gone a long way!

Lastly, a special thanks to everyone at BT who contributes content to this site. Four months ago I couldn't run 3 miles without walking and whining about shin splints. I also couldn't swim more than four laps in a pool without an oxygen tank. So much of your input helped me prepare for this race and make it a huge success in my mind. And the sense of community both on this board and at the races only makes me more drawn to this incredible sport. Cheers to you all and good racing.