I had two issues with the swim. First, I was all over the course. At one point one of the volunteers in a kayak yelled that I was going off-course. Second, in the pool I would always breath on 4 whereas I did most of this swim on 2. My guess is I was swimming harder that normal since my pace of 1:34/100 was pretty much the same as the 800yds I did with the suit on in the pool earlier in the week (1:33.5/100). Take into account my zig-zag swim, I probably swam longer than the 1056yds and thus my pace was faster than the 800 in the pool.

(1) Next race I will try and breath on 3. That should also help me with sighting and navigation.

Had to run on some dirt/sand to get from the water to the actual transition area. I had my cap, goggles, and suit 1/2 off by the time I reached my station. I had a little trouble getting my shirt on since it was a tight Under Armor shirt.

(1) I made a last minute decision pre-race to put my gloves on during T1 instead of attaching them to the bike and putting them on then. This took nearly 10s since my hands were a bit wet and the gloves got stuck. Next time, they'll be on the bike.

(2) I may consider wearing the Under Armor during the swim too.

Actual pace was prob at 20mi (thanks brad) since there was a long run (~50yds) in sand/dirt to get the bike to/from the transition area. I borrowed a road bike for the race (a late 80s David Scott Centurion Ironman w/ aero bars). I had a little trouble getting into the clips..I think they were filled with dirt/sand. After that I went out hard and was pleased with the bike minus one error...I didn't have the mouth piece on my lone water bottle open. Subsequently, I lost the bottle at mile 2 when trying to get my first drink. The only bottle exchange was located in the first 100yds (for the 1/2 point for the half ironman) so it was useless for sprinters. Started to tire around mile 14 ~ 15. Saw a "Get ur dun" sign posted to a tree while on the course.

(1) Have my water bottle mouth piece open befor the race, duh!

I ran with the shoes on since there was that 50yd run through dirt and sand. I unbuckled my helmet while running and shoe change was no problem. I finally got my first drink of water here.

I think (1) my lack of hydration during the bike hurt and (2) my fastest bike pace for the distance ever hurt me here. I didn't have much left in the tank and got passed a lot.

(1) Focus a little more on biking to build by bike endurance

(2) I feel I tend to fall into a grove while running...so a slow start means a slow run. Next time I'll focus on starting faster/harder in order to maintain a better pace throughout.

Walked around for a bit. Cpl cups of gatorade and water. Light stretching. Talked to brad and we waited for kristin to finish.


The two biggest factors were remaining calm in the water (esp. the beginning) along with navigation, and better hyrdation/fuel...losing that bottle of gatorade to start the bike wasn't good. All in all, I was please with the result of my first tri. Outside of being startled and taking 200 or so yds to get settled in the water, I felt strong mentally. Physically, I felt I should have pushed myself harder during the run.


Hard to rate the race comparatively since this was my first tri. It seemed a bit disorganzed (late start, pre-race meeting was informal at best). Great course for a first-timer or newby. Wish they had a bottle exchange on the bike. Packet pick-up, body-marking were good.