It got real tight at the first buoy and I was swimming in people, not water for a while. Didn't really get into my rythm good at first. Instead started out a bit too fast and tired. Had to back-stroke 4-5 times to catch my breath. Also kept drifting left of the buoys and had to keep swimming back to the course.

Start out slower and further to the right and back of the main pack. Concentrate more on ease of movement and breathing. Take note of whether I'm still colliding with people. If not, look-up because I'm probably drifting off course.

Had shoes already clipped into pedals as I had been practicing getting into them that way. The straps on one shoe got crossed up and it took a little too long to get fully into my shoes. Let 6 to 8 guys pass me while I finished getting my shoes on.

Put shoes on in transition. Get to race earlier so I know where bike and run exits are.

Felt pretty good on the bike, but couldn't get down any Gatorade. Didn't bring my mix so I tried premixed orange gatorad and it was way too sweet. Didn't think much of it at the time, but really regretted this later when my calves starting cramping badly coming out of T2

Drink more Gatorade or have a gel and water to keep electrolytes in balance. Will push harder over the whole length of the ride instead of saving so much for the end.

Didn't use socks. Shoes a little difficult to get on my sweaty feet.

Get new shoes or wear socks 'cause my shoes cut the insides of my feet. Heels where fine though because I wore bandaids back there.

My calves started cramping in spasms as soon as I started running. Stopped and tried to stretch them out but ended up just running slowly for the first 1/4 mile or so until they worked themselves out. I hurt pretty good until they did.

Get more electrolytes on bike. Do more real brics in training.

walked around transition area


Struggling on the swim and calves cramping on the run