Memphis in May - TriathlonOlympic

This was only my second OWS, the first being the day before. This was my first swim in a wetsuit, and it felt pretty good.

I wasn't in the kind of shape that I'd like to have been, but this was definitely my best sport.

Train more.
Practice Sighting.
Stay away from the guide rope.

I didn't practice my transitions, and I was a bit tired from the swim, so I took my time. I don't have clipless peddles, so I just put on my running shoes.

My wetsuit got stuck on one of my heels, that slowed me down a bit.

Drank some more Gatorade and ate a Gu, then was on my way.

Practice Transitions.

SLOW! That is the best way to describe my ride. It was a combination of me just not being physically ready and my bike (Trek 7.2FX) not being designed for this. I didn't trust myself to push any faster than I did. I don't think I would have finished the bike leg if I had.

I also didn't take anything other than water during the ride, I think that slowed me down a bit towards the end and during the start of the run.

This was the first time I've ever ridden 24 miles. That was a mistake.

Train more and faster.
Bring some Gu along.

I was exhausted after the bike. I'm not using clipless peddles, so I didn't have to put on my running shoes.

Finished off the rest of my Gatorade, stretched a bit, then made my way to the run.

I also needed to badly use the restroom, but I thought I could make it.

Once again, practice transitions.

I felt really bad at the beginning of this run. I discovered I desperately needed to use the restroom sometime after mile 1, so I did so when I reached the strategically placed Porta-John.

After that, I was able to pick up my pace a bit.
Shortly before the turn around, I met up with Jill, a Team in Training member who was having similar difficulty on the run. We paced each other the rest of the race, keeping each other company and encouraging ourselves and those we passed. I owe the fact that I was able to finish in the time I did to her. Thank you Jill!

Train More!
Bring a Gu at least along for the run.
Not quite so much water/Gatorade.
Use the restroom in transition ;)

Walked around aimlessly a bit before meeting my personal fanclub near Transition. Talked to them while I was taking down a cold bottle of water. Ended up dry-heaving a bit from said cold water.

Laid down on the ground in transition while the Endorphins kicked in.


I'm a college student. My semester ended at the beginning of May, and finals and such killed my training.

So I basically barely got a decent workout in for almost a month before the race. That hurt my times quite a bit.

I need to work on my nutrition plan for the actual race. Also, I'm carrying around a few extra worthless pounds that I need to get rid of.

And while it is not the most important factor, my bike isn't quite up to par.

So in short:
More training.
Better Race Nutrition.
Better Equipment.


I didn't hang around for any of the post race activities, but from what I saw they seemed nice.

This was my first race, and I'm really glad I did it. I'll be back next year to crush my time, and I'll be bringing some friends!