Tugaloo Olympic Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Pretty good swim. The goal was to go as efficiently fast as I could, keeping in mind this was the first leg of the race. I felt like I swam smooth and at no time was tired or out of breath. I may have held back too much, but I would have rather erred to the side of caution than go out too hard.

Swim straight! On the long, back straightaway, I was in open water so I went for a good 2 minutes without sighting. Then I hear "look up, look up!". So I pick my head up and see that i'm about 10 feet away from running into a boat. A big boat. I guess they were anchored to watch the race. So after that i made and effort to sight more but i still had trouble maintaining a straight line. I'll have to work on that.

This is where my poor setup bit me. I had to go into my bag to get my sunglasses b/c I forgot to put them out. I also had to find a gel pack. Definitely not a disaster, but I could have done a minute better if i was prepared.

Practice transitions. Set up my transition area better

Again, word for the race was efficient. I had an efficient ride. I didn't kill myself going up hills, and I took it easy going down, but I never took any time off. A good, constant effort. I kept my bike computer on avg speed and tried to keep it above 21mph. I would get up to 21.3 or 21.4 after a nice downhill, then watch it creep back down after an uphill. The last set of rollers dropped me below 21, but it was a fun battle. Then main thing was that after the bike, I felt fine going into the run.

Not much. Again, I probably held a little back, but I needed to for the run. I've got to remember to keep drinking. I had half a bottle left after the bike. Also, i think my rear der. is bent which is causing some chain skipping.

T2 was fine. I did forget my visor and had to go back and get it. That may have cost me 15 seconds but no big deal.

Both of my transistions were slower than other people finishing around the same time as I did. I really do need to practice them.

Hilly and hot. If your weakness is running, this makes it glaringly obvious, as it did with me. I started out good for the first 3 miles keeping the pace just about 9:00. The next mile was around 9:30. By then it had turned into a death march. I walked the remaining aid stations and at the crests of a few hills. So miles 5 and 6 were each at around a 10:30 pace. The last turnaround was so hard. You had to pass the road leading to the finish which was mentally crushing, go for about a 1/3 of a mile to an uphill turnaround, then head back to the finish road. Plus that last turnaround section had no shade and it was hot. Once I got to the last turn, there was a hill and then the finish, so I gave it what i had left and finished strong - relatively speaking.

Not much. I did what i could do. Ultimately, I need to run more. Lots more. I had visions of attempting a half-iron next year, but I may push that back a year. I don't think i'm ready yet, and I think i've got a long way to go before I am ready.

Drank as much water as i could get my hands on. Then hit the snack buffet for cookies, muffins, gatorade, and coke. A little stretching and then walked around to see if i could find and NAMC'ers. I did see Lisa but nobody else.


Maybe a little conservative with race pacing for the first two legs. Definitely need to train more for the run.


Another great GA Multisport race. Never disappointed by those guys.