Great swim overall. After doing well in the swim last year, I knew to take it out hard to get some clean water. I lined up in the middle of the front row, sprinted to mid thigh depth, then dove and swam like crazy. There were 3-4 swimmers in a lead pack. I had one guy on my feet that I dropped after about 50 yards, and 2 others 5 feet to the outside. With a strong contingent of first timers and two minutes between waves, we caught the group in front of us half way to the first buoy, and had to do a lot of picking through crowds throughout. I sighted extremely well for the first time ever, and picked a very tight, inside line. There were surprisingly few people to the inside, and I basically had clean water the rest of the way. I rounded the last buoy too sharp and didn't bother to sight the finish, leaving me too far to the inside. I corrected and quickly got back on course. Heading into the last stretch, I could see one other white cap (my wave) with me still, but felt no extra effort was necessary at that point. I came out of the water just ahead of him, and we congratulated each other on a good swim.

Absolutely nothing, short of maybe swimming more yardage.

Overall no complaints. I hustled up the hill, but took my time to get the suit off and helmet/race belt/sunglasses on. I could have run a little faster with the bike (as I was being passed on foot).

Run faster, keep up the hard pace

For me, I absolutely crushed this!! I don't think I've ever averaged over 21 on a training ride, and pegged this one at 22 mph. I did a good job getting in and out of my shoes on the bike, and had a solid running dismount (still working on the flying mount:) I rode almost the entire race on the yellow line (at the far left) due to the traffic and people strung all across the road (certainly understandable at a good "beginner" race). I did a great job of pushing the downhills and carrying the momentum into the next uphill. Overall, just a great ride!

Perhaps push a little more just yet. Even though the HR was high (my supposed LT is around 168-170), my legs were not burning, and it was rare that my breathing got very heavy.

Everything went great except that my shoes got a little scattered when I went out of T1. Took my time (again, probably too much time), and made my way.

No problems, just push harder

This was fairly typical for me. I've never been much of a runner, but it has been getting better. This was my best pace ever over this distance. I took it out fairly easy. I had no semblence of cramping whatsoever, so picked up the pace earlier than in the past. My friend John was about a minute behind me at the turn-around, so I wasn't sure I could hold him off. With this in mind, I definitely ran a negative split. I was a litte humbled when I was passed by a 14 year old, though it turns out he was the fastest swimmer (out of 953 participants), and 24th overall! i probably kept up with him over the last 2/3rd mile, but couldn't reel him in at all. I gassed it into the finish with all I had (HR 185!).

Again, perhaps take it out a little harder, but otherwise I have no complaints!!

Hit my watch and waited for John. He finished :35 behind me. We stretched and enjoyed the post-race food and drink, and checked our times


Only knowing that my fitness was good enough to push a little harder on the bike and run, despite what my HR monitor was telling me. I'll see how the half-iron distances go, but I may decide to stick just with sprints, as this was fast, fun, and the suffering was relatively limited.


This is an excellent race for people of all abilities. The organization is top-notch, planning is clear, website up to date, and volunteer help is only matched perhaps by the MPLS Lifetime tri. I will definitely do this race year after year.