Awful swim.
I was expecting to swim around 2m/100m and not stopping for the whole 500m ... Did not happened. I had a tempo trainer which I totally ignored and was swimming waaay to fast (at least for me). Obviously, I ran out of air around 250m and had to stop. And then the rest of the swim I was not able to get my cadence under control and kept swimming to survive ... stopped another 3 times in the last 250m. Well ... live and learn.

Lesson learned: I need to keep an eye on my cadence. I am sure that if I pay attention to the tempo trainer, I can swim for at least 30 minutes non-stop. I guess too much adrenaline flowing. Overall, I am not devastated, I know what I need to work on for the next race in June.

I came out of the water walking ... once I realized I had 1/3 of the race done, I was able to run to my rack. wetsuit off, shoes in hand (not wanted to run with cycling shoes on grass) helmet, sunglasses and out for a ride.

A few things here and there ... Goal for next time will be to have an under 2m T1.

I felt really good on the bike. I know I am not a fast rider, but still I went into a very comfortable pace and was able to pass good number of people, which always feels good. I was on aero for some time and actually felt I was faster while on aero (really?). Anyway, I actually was able to ride mostly on my big ring and have a very good last couple of miles. Wind gusts the entire course, some times you were riding against it.

Keep training, no alternative.

Rookie mistake:
My rack space was taken by someone else, so my I had to rack my bike in the adjacent space. Then my front wheel was on top of my (now new) neighbor's wetsuit. So I carefully move his wetsuit and the rest of the stuff so my wheel was not on top of it.
Running shoes on, no sox, and off I went.

Just rack my bike and forget about other people's stuff ... (?) ...
Or rack my bike where I was supposed to and remove the other bike from MY rack ... (?) ...

This was really motivating ... knowing that I was able to have a great run after the swim and bike legs is encouraging. I went out TA hoping to finish the run strong, without stopping and keeping goal number 2 (see pre-race routine) in mind.
Midway through the run I felt great and was passing a lot of people. In fact the last mile I was able to speed up a little bit and I am sure I was running sub 8m miles.
Crossed the line and was very happy. Goal number 1: check, Goal number 2: check. Goal number 3: WIP ... It can only get better.
I"M A TRIATHLETE !!

Not much. I liked my performance coming out of the bike and into the run. Obviously, more training = better endurance and higher speed.

Another first: Ironman Performance right after the finish line. Nice.
My wife and my kids were at the finish and it was great to see them and getting a kiss from DW. She has been very supportive of my endurance adventures.


I am happy with this being my first tri. I know I need to work on my swimming and I also need to spend a lot more time on the saddle ... so noted.


This is a really beginner friendly race.
Tunica is a great venue. The lake is only 6ft deep which is a blessing for those of us with limited OW experience. The bike course is flat and fast and there is a lot of support from local police guiding traffic and making the course very safe.
I will be back next year for sure