Nothing. I did the best I could, considering this was my first triathlon swim.

Terrible first transition time. I took my time and fuddled around too much. I did have everything layed out the way I wanted it to, but I took some additional time to put on a thermal top before I got on my bike, because it was cold. I didn't run, because I hate running with my bike shoes; I feel like I am going to break the clips.

not sure; perhaps put my bike gloves on while riding? I could have clipped my shoes to the bike and see how that went, but I didn't practice it enough.

Wow! What an experience! The bike started out with a steep, but short hill which immediately took my breath away. I took a hit of my inhaler and off I went! Now, I don't consider myself a fast biker; I usually average 17mph during my workouts. During the triathlon, I felt like a different person. I was having a great time passing tons of people. Although I averaged only 18.6 mph during the bike, I felt like I was flying! I would spot someone ahead and me and just think about passing them and I did! It was great. I think I only counted about 6 or 7 people passing me on the bike and I think I re-passed a couple of them towards the last half of the bike which was cool. The bike out had the wind behind us and on the way back the wind was in our face. It wasn't too bad. I think I have had a lot of practice with the wind because every time I bike it seems like I was fighting the wind. Ever get the feeling that the wind is always a "head wind" no matter what direction you go? So weird....Anyhow, I had a blast on the bike and I can see now why the bike is the obsession of so many triathletes..Including myself now.

go faster on the bike. I am betting that I could have averaged closer to 20mph if I wanted to. I didn't want to tire my legs out though. I also could have attacked a couple hills better. I think I approached them too slowly and didn't gather enough momentum to climb the hills, thus, making it a slow climb in some situations.

This was easy! I was able to get in and out of the T2 area much faster than T1. All I did was remove my thermal and put on my running shoes and I was off!

perhaps remove my feet from my shoes earlier. I also didn't run the correct direction on the way out.

After heading the wrong direction out of the transition area (a volunteer pointed me in the right direction after a second or two of going the wrong way.) I was on my way!....Yes, my legs felt heavy like most triathletes and the first half-mile was difficult. The run was such a positive experience for me! I got to have a short chat with my wife as I ran by her. (She thought I was finishing soon! ha!) The run took us along the banks of the Fox River. It was a very nice and scenic course. Anyhow, I discovered that I had a lot of legs left in me during the run. I decided that it might be a better strategy for me to run fartleks during the run stage. Basically, I would see a tree ahead or a sign post and run at a faster pace to that spot and then just do it over and minute later, sometimes sooner. Again, like the bike, I was passing by a lot of people. That is just an awesome feeling. A lot of the people were supportive and would shout, "Your going strong! Keep it up!" as I passed them...very cool. I was also wearing my forerunner, so I would give people updates about our mileage; which everyone appreciated. One time I gave a lady an update that we were just about at the two mile mark and low-and-behold, we turned the corner and there was a sign, "Two Miles"...We both laughed. It was moments like those that made that day soooo much fun. I just loved the good sportsmanship during the entire race. People were so friendly and encouraging. Even my wife remarked that the wives she spoke to while she was watching me were quite friendly and had a lot to say to her. Well, the run went well! I averaged an 8:24 pace! That was really good for me...that is what I usually average when I do 5k's and I had already done a swim and a bike! I was amazed by all that. I also had enough leg in me to sprint the last 200 meters and make a strong finish. My only regret about the run was that I think I could have gone harder. I will next time.
Overall:

Didn't do much other than just walk around, find my wife and give her a hug.


I am asthmatic, so I guess that limits the amount of oxygen that my body can handle, but I was hardly fatigued during the run. I felt great the whole time!


I won't forget my first triathlon! Very cool experience and it was great to meet up with a couple guys from the triscoop.com forum. They were both very friendly guys. BTW, one of the guy's training partner was the overall winner of the triathlon. After the race I had the pleasure to be interviewed by Jumpy and he told me that he was going to submit it to Brett of triscoop.com. I can't wait to hear it. I was a little discouraged during the interview because I thought I placed near the bottom of my age bracket (27/35), but all the race results weren't in yet. I was later more pleased to read that I placed 27th out of 48 in my age bracket; which is what I thought I would do. I am usually a "mid-packer" in my age group so it was nice to see that my mediocrity held up! ha!

Anyhow, I am not signed up for another triathlon until Chicago, but I plan on joining a few more before August. I would like to do the Harbor Lights triathlon, the Lake Geneva triathlon, and the Naperville triathlon before my Chicago race. Perhaps a few more, who knows??? Can't wait! I am addicted now!