Turtleman Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I am a directionally challenged swimmer. I could not stay on course and had to course correct from far away at least twice. I need to work on that for next year. However, I was very pleased with my swim. I only used breast stroke to course correct and swam crawl the rest of the way. I also didn't panic in the water. I just kept swimming for the next marker and swore audibly when I missed it. My shoulder was very sore at the end of the swim and still hurts. I'll have to nurse it for a while and see if it feels better.

I need a real wet suit. Mine is not meant for triathlons. I also need shaded (polarized?) goggles, probably open water ones, and anti-fog spray. I think if I also work on my navigation, I can have better swims in the future.

I took my time in T1 since I knew I was going to need a potty break before the bike. I also made sure to eat a gel and drink water before I got on the bike. I have trouble drinking from my water bottle while pedaling.

This was a much better ride for me than the Graniteman Tri. That one was so windy, I was just getting killed. But this race, was great. I missed most of the mile markers which was probably a good thing. I just kept pedaling and pedaling and didn't think about how far I was along.

Train more, go faster. What else is there?

Drank more water and had another gel. This seemed to help me on the run.

I felt really good on the run. I of course couldn't feel my legs at the beginning, but that didn't stop me. I was actually surprised that I wasn't more tired at this point, but pleased that I made it without too much trouble.

Train more, run faster.

No one is more surprised than me at my finish time. I expected to come in around 3-3.5 hours. The bike and run were actually shorter than a 50k and 10k, so that might be part of it. Still, it was a great race. My friend Jay came along as race support which helped motivate me to get in the water. I always want to chicken out when standing in line to go in. The swim always looks so daunting. This race should hopefully help me realize that I can actually swim the distance and not panic.