This was pretty crappy. I listed my time as though it was a yard pool, but it was in fact a meter pool. I probably should have added a few seconds so I wouldn't have been passed.

Warmup! Also, I would have clarified the ending a bit more as I swam an extra lap in error.

We had to run about 1/4 of a mile to get to the transition area (barefoot) and it counted towards our time. I got the splits for the events, but I don't remember the t1/t2 times.

Bring something to sit on. I'm not too flexible as it is, but when I just swam and the blood is rushing to my head, bending over to put the socks on was doubly difficult.

This was my first tri with a bike that actually went outside (see my other race), so I was very excited to see how I stacked-up on real terrain. There was this hill about 1/2 mile into the bike that kicked me in the rear and slapped me in the face. I managed to pass someone without coming out of the saddle, so I felt pretty good about things. I'm amazed by the great sportsmanship in this sport. As I passed that dude up the hill, all we said were encouraging words to one another, like "stay in that saddle!" or "I see the crest, you got it!" Great stuff. Anyhow, the rest of the bike was on this straight road with some rolling hills. I passed a couple of people and got passed by some dudes in their superbikes. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the ride as a whole.

What would you do differently?:

I really need to get better at those climbs. I think some good distance training ought to do the trick.

Great transition! Got the gloves/helmet off, took a swig of water, and slipped on the sneaks. Gotta love those race laces!

Maybe have the gloves off before I get to my parking spot. Otherwise, not too much time could be shave from this transition.

I think the first "half" of the run was a little shorter than the second. I felt as though I ran pretty slow off the bike, like I do in most of my BRICK workouts, so I can't imagine running too fast of a split. My goal was to get under an hour, so I kept looking at my watch to try and pace myself. When I got back to the start/finish area, I had 53 minutes on the watch and I thought it was within reach. Yeah, it was far from reach - over two minutes in fact.

Well, since this was my biggest area for improvement, I wouldn't change a thing except do more of the same.

Walk around, stretch a bit, talk to the in-laws, and wait for the Mrs. to come around the bend.


The extra lap on the swim and the rough ride back after the turnaround. Next is an Oly-distance tri, so I better shape-up!


Lots of volunteers, but the confusion in the transition areas seemingly overwhelmed them. In one instance, a guy took off in the wrong direction for about 100 yards before someone finally cought him to turn him around. Other than that, the vols were great.