Overall I was pleased with the swim. My last triathlon the swim was very poor as I struggled with breathing. I felt like I was not getting enough oxygen and ended up using the breast stroke for over half the swim--luckily only 500yards. This swim I practiced taking a breath every other stroke instead of every third stroke as I did in the last race. My goal was to set a constant, bur relatively easy pace in free-style, but to complete the entire swim without feeling I was losing my breath. Half way through the swim my rhythm go off (a mix of avoiding another swimmer and sighting) and oddly I found myself out of breath because of it. Had to breast stroke for about a minute, but then felt fine and could go again free style. Actually, I felt I was fast after the short rest and finished the rest of the swim confident and strong.

Overall there is nothing I would change about the swim--my strategy worked as planned. However, with my breathing problems seemingly behind me, I am now working on my form. I need to pick up some speed and am working on not dropping my elbow in the stroke. Will be working on practice sessions mixing in at least one dedicated swim per week just on slow form-buidling work.

Transition was slow because I had to sit down to put on my bike shoes. I practiced a bit with the shoes on the clips but didn't feel comfortable trying it in the race. Part of the problem is the tongue in the shoe. During transitioning into the show while on the bike, the tongue sometimes would get jammed down into the tow of the shoe as I got my foot in during the ride. Didn't want to risk this happening. Based on suggestions from the forum, I may just go ahead and cut the tongue out of the shoe. Need to improve getting my sock on.

Not sure that I would do anything differently; however, I do want to begin pre-clipping the shoes onto the bike.

My biking just stinks. I have not been riding that long, so my poor speed is understandable--new to the bike and only average equipment (riding a converted road bike). My effort was strong, but I simply need to put more time in the saddle in practice. I expect to improve road times a bit with a more concentrated training effort. Three times a week on the bike, either on the open road or on the trainer. We will see what the times look like after a solid off season training program.

Wouldn't have done anything differently.

Transition here was pretty good. Got my feet out of the shoes while still riding, and got the bike back on the rack with no problems. What slowed me down a little was tying my run shoes--will be looking at tri-laces in the future. Hat, glasses, gel, and run belt (while running out of transition) all in a few seconds. Not having to tie shoes would cut that time down.

Just the laces.

The run was starting to get hot, but the run is definitely my strongest segment. Took a caffeinated get right at the begging of the run and I found it took a half mile before I really hit my stride. Picked up a lot of time on the run and was passed only by one other person.

Was very happy with the run. Wouldn't change anything.

Did not do a formal warm-down; just stood at the finish, consumed a bottle of water, after dumping on over my head (it was very hot), and talked with friends. Ate a banana and turkey sandwich (provided by organizers) as well as half a Cliff Bar. Felt very good after the race.


The heat really didn't affect me much--or at least I didn't feel it did. I was slower than I wanted to be in the swim and the bike mainly because I lacked the experience. In both cases it is a matter of training more. More time on the bike and more practice on form in the pool.


This was my first time at this race, but it was very well organized. All three courses were clearly marked, and there were plenty of volunteers pointing out the way to go--every intersection on the bike had more than one person directing traffic. No chance to miss a turn. After race food was plentiful and varied. The bike transition area was a little tight, but with the staggered swim time start, there wasn't (at least for me) a problem during T1 and T2.