I got into the water a little before the start but didn't do much because it was so cold. Since I'm a strong swimmer I decided to get out in the front of my heat and just go for it. I was in the water for about 30 seconds and my feet cramped up super bad from the cold. It hurt like hell... and then they went numb. I decided to just keep kicking with my legs and try not to move my feet to much. I quickly fell into the fourth position and despite the cold I felt pretty strong. Because the water was so cold (and dark) I swam the entire way with my head above water but it didn't slow me down to much.

When the swim was finished I limped out of the water because it hurt to walk on my cramped up feet. I walked/hopped/limped up the hill into transition. When I got to my spot I looked at my watch and it said 5:45. Once we got the results my swim was recorded as 7 minutes. Three other people in my wave had this time so obviously something was messed up because I didn't cross the mat with 3 other people.

Nothing. It was just really really cold.

T1 went pretty fast. I stripped off my wetsuit and jumped on the bike. My feet were still hurting but I didn't notice them too much after I put on my shoes. My recorded T1 time was 1:07. I took the 1:30 I cut off my swim and added it to my T1 time... From now on the splits seem correct so it should get simpler ;)

Nothing, just practice transitions more

I felt strong on the bike and I actually passed quite a few people (a change from the last race). Now, a lot of these people were on hybrid or mountain bikes, but I even passed a few on road bikes. I pushed hard on the bike and with about a mile left to go it dawned on me that I still had to run 3.1 miles. Oops.

Easy up at the end of the bike to prepare for the run.

T2 felt fast but in hindsight it was not. I was 86th out of 92 for speed. I have a lot of work to do on transitions still...

Practice more.

The beginning of the run really sucked. Like really,really sucked. About 100 yards in I was thinking to myself "This must be what it means to bonk on the run." I was afraid that I was going to have to start walking, but I pushed through and about a half mile in I started to get into a groove.

Do more running off the bike.

Cold water, need to do more bricks.


Very well organized, lots of race report, and free sandwiches for everyone after. Age groupers received certificates and gift cards.