The sprint was the last group to go, so there were a lot of folks in the water. When I rounded the buoy, the current and chop increased substantially. I had a hard time keeping form, which is to say, I didn't. Started breathing more, which was no good. I'm a bit disappointed with my time and my swim.

Same as always - practice open water swimming. Learn how to swim by perceived effort.

I was a bit out of breath coming out of the water. I decided to go a little bit slower, sip some water. Also, with the transitions being in separate locations, I had to make sure all my stuff was packed in my T1 bag. That slowed me down a little.

Be better at swimming so that I could zip in without needing to catch a breather and some water.

This was the toughest bike segment I've done in any race. That probably worked to my advantage, giving me a chance to break people on the run simply by having a comparatively strong run.

On the frontage road, there was a steady headwind that led me to ride in the small ring. Talking to others, that seemed to be the norm. When I turned north, with the wind, I really flew. That was fun.

As I reviewed the results more in-depth, I get happier and happier with my bike. It looks like the course ate up most competitors.

Be good at cycling? It's hard to say, as I felt that my bike was a good effort, and compared to the field, it was pretty good. Maybe next season, or off season, I'll hit hill repeats with regularity.

We didn't get to set up T2; our run gear was in bags hanging from our assigned spots. Not having my shoes, visor and belt laid out slowed me down, as I had to untie the bag and get everything out and on.

I would have tied my T2 bag to my spot differently so that I could access the contents without having to remove the bag from the post.

I had a goal to run 6:30/mile, but there was no way after that challenging bike course. I felt like I was in good shape compared to the field, so I decided to run by feel and try to pick off runners ahead of me. I caught both.

I've done very little speed work, so expecting a strong run was probably a reach.

Be in good running shape.

Ha, get out of here with that warm down business.


Very hard bike course. Split transitions meant I could not have my T2 set up, and had to unpack bag when I arrived after the bike. Swim was disappointing.


Tri Now puts on good events, and this was no exception. It was a very well organized race. I like that there was a challenging course, and I got to ride through a state park. I hope that the organizers can make the 5k run more accurate in distance next year.

The field was a bit small, but given that this was the first year, that's not terribly surprising.

Overall, this was a good race that's actually somewhat unique. I registered early enough that my fees were under $75, so it was also a good value. I hope they put this race on again next year.