'Tri The Rock' Triathlon - TriathlonMini Sprint

--Water was very murky. Could not see wall coming.
--Put down 5:00 as my seed. Only one swimmer got close to me around halfway. I waited for 3-4 seconds at the wall for him to pass and then I drafted off of him :)
--"Helpers" didn't seem to want to help me out. "Passive" I think someone else rightly called them. Coulda used some help.

Nothing. Just enough effort.

Fairly smooth with good long run out of transition.

Nothing

--Course is actually about 13.77 (actual speed was 21.09 mph)
--Hills numerous the first 20 minutes or so
--I passed two vehicles on the highway, ran off the road into the grass, and then passed 3 bikes all about 5 seconds. Don't know if some numnut in a truck was following a participant going 8 mph on a mountain bike or what. It was a dangerous situation for me because when I was side by side I lost my nerve and ran off the road. I had to practically bunny hop my bike back on the road in front of this truck to then pass the cyclists.
--Saw Karen near the road to turn to go south.
--Got passed by #75 on an Orbea and we played the passing game for the remainder of the bike, actually enjoyed that aspect.
--Drank only about 12 oz of Gatoraide Endurance during the bike.
--Feet on top of shoes the last 100 meters
--Uneventful dismount

Nothing.

--Unbuckled helmet with one hand while running with bike, maybe saved half a second :P
--Racing flats and visor on lickety-split and I'm gone. My rack spot was very near the run out.

--Playground mulch was concern because in w/up I flung some into my shoe. No problem during race
--Grassy, uneven hills (albeit small) are challenging for the start of the run
--Saw Craig coming in on his bike. Actually he saw me and shouted out. I was in a daze.
--Later saw Craig again and Chris on the run.
--Ran moderate the 1st and 2nd mile, faster on last .9
--Happy to finish
--Happy with time (I hadn't looked at my total time the whole race)

Nothing.

--Chatted with friends and with my family. Doug Fusella, who has helped me the past 3 seasons with inspiration/advice. Chris and Craig - helped me go faster on the bike for fear of them catching me. Met Jonny and talked with Karen. Ralph from my workplace and his wife Vicky.

ATE:
--Breakfast burritos (yum)
--Spaghetti (yum)
--Patries with chocolate filling (yum x 2)
--Banana
--Water
--Coffee



Nothing.


For the money, this race is the absolute best one I've done - year after year (3 years in a row now). The locals donate this great food to support the Kiwanis Club, and Jack's crew do their typical clinic on organizing and execution.

Lots of newbies and first timers reminded me how exciting and fun it is to be in this sport. Made me think back to my first race on a 35 pound Walmart mountain bike.