Overall I felt I did pretty well, but a lot of people were totally out of control in the pool. While waiting to swim I saw a number of people swimming up the wrong lanes, swimming up the wrong side of the lane, passing on the wrong side, and even head on smashing into one another. I tried to stay tight with the lane marker to my left at all times, but had oncoming swimmers bang into me a few times for no real reason. I held a good pace and passed one swimmer at the halfway mark. I had a break right behind me, so it was nice to not have traffic behind me. Even though I re-numbered to #200 I still started in the #60 spot and felt I picked an accurate swim split (1:50/100).

Maybe FS can be more clear in their pool instruction? I certainly don't fault them, but this swim was worse than most pool swims I have seen.

I was worried about freezing like a Titanic passenger when I saw the weather was going to be mid 30s. I ended up taking FOREVER in T1 putting on layers to stay warm on the bike. I did stay warm, but I think I could have gotten away with a lot less. Pants over tri suit, long socks, shoes, tech t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, bike jacket, helmet, gloves.

Try to put on less. Maybe just a jacket instead of multiple shirts, a jacket, and pants.

First major ride on the new bike. The bike rode well and was pretty comfortable. I overdressed for the bike and could have gotten away with wearing less for a faster T1. I felt like I started slow but hit a good rythym about 2 miles in. Ended up passing a dozen or so riders and didn't get passed myself. I was thirsty most of the ride and ended up missing the water at the turnaround. Should have had a bottle on board with me, but for a short ride it wasn't a big problem. My goal was 20 minutes for the bike - fell a little short, but I think I can get better with more seat time.

Dress with less, take a bottle with me.

Definitely need to spend more time on the bike, but that wasn't possible for this race.

Went better than T1, but still slow. Took a while to get my pants off - shouldn't have had them on in the first place. Had to get my water bottle out of my bag while took a little time also

Wear less in T1 to have less to take off.

I initially felt ok, but once I hit the hill out of the transition area my legs felt weak and heavy. I got passed by a couple guys on that uphill but didn't have any punch to hang on with them. At the top of the hill I was laboring, but managed to calm down and get my hr down a little. After that I was able to get into a stride and started running down some guys in front of me. At the 1 mile mark I felt pretty good and started picking up the pace even more. I think I passed about 10 runners and ended up getting passed by one more guy as we turned onto the final downhill. My legs didn't have much pop at that point, but I was able to kick it out the best I could once I saw the finish line in sight. My goal going in was 15 minutes and the fastest clyde run split, so I was happy with my time.

I should have trained on hills right off the bike. My normal run course has some hills similar to what this course had, but I normally hit those after running 1/2 mile, so my legs are already somewhat transitioned. I probably could have pushed a little harder a little earlier, but I was happy with my time overall.

Grabbed a bottle of water from a volunteer (thanks!) and walked it out until my heart rate settled. My fiance, puppy, and parents were there, so we hung out for a few minutes before going to get my gear out of the transition area and loading up to head home.


Time on the bike, no clipless pedals, and SLOW transitions.


Ended up winning the clyde group which really surprised me! This was my second triathlon, and I really enjoyed it with the new bike and less anxiety over what to expect. I'm looking forward to training on the bike to faster and continuing to work on my swimming and running as well.