This went a lot better than I expected. I was nervous going in but settled in very quickly, and went out way to quickly. I went with the 4th wave, firsttimers. The woman swimming next to me kept pushing to the right, I finally poked my head up and yelled at her to straighten out, hopefully this wasn't too terrible etiquitte. I had overheard some folks talking before the race and mentioning that when winded they used the sidestroke, this is something I had not considered before, but used with great results. I found myself not being able to keep up with my freestyle, tried some breast at first but found that in the wetsuit I felt like I was fighting against myself, so I tried the sidestroke and it worked fantasticly. I actually felt like I was gliding through the water. Continued this for about 25 yards and then went back to my freestyle. Used it for another 25 yards or so at about the 350 yard point.

I was pretty pleased, I'm not sure I would do anything differently.

This was rough. I got extremely light headed and had a hard time keeping my balance to get into my bike shoes. Had to go slow and regather my balance. Was breathing very heavy.

Need to work on my early morning food. I only had half a bagel and some gatorade, I was so nervous about my stomach not handling the food. I'm going to have to work on what I can eat and how far in advance.

I had hoped to ride at about 16mph and be done in 45 minutes. There were long grassy portions that needed to be walked/ran before mounting the bike. I also had trouble getting into my clips at first - I think that was part of my dizziness from T1.

Ride faster. I keep thinking to myself that I didn't leave it all out there on the course. I suppose that was my desire to finish and not want to kill myself in any one event. I think next time I'll push myself harder.

Had to get off bike a good 60-70 yards before the transition area.

Nothing, I thought this transition was pretty good. I can't imagine I lost too much time tying my shoes. I had thought about getting those yankers things but this was just fine.

I wasn't happy with the baby steps I was taking up the hill. I walked for about 20 seconds and realized I was moving faster but was not happy so started running (if you can call it that) again. The hills sucked.

Run faster. I have to work on my pace, I should be able to do better than 12 minute miles. I think these are still my nerves regarding finishing. I have yet to train for any speed. This is still a part of my overall desire to continue losing weight and thinking that if I don't run far I won't work off as much fat. I've got to get past that.

Hugs to the wife and kids!! Everyone was so proud, I felt this huge letdown that it was over. I was expecting a huge sense of euphoria but it wasn't there.


I haven't trained to run or bike faster. Just slow and steady. Now I need to switch gears and think about this differently. I should be able to shave 10 minutes off just by getting my 12 minutes running miles to 9 or 10 minutes. Next year I'll have to invest in a new bike, my 1989 Schwinn Voyageur (who maybe now deserves a name) has treated me well but the thought that clean shifts and a lighter bike can cut time sounds good.


A little support goes a long way, a lot of support...what can I say. After talking through all this with Susan she has actually asked when I want to do the next one. Well....It looks like its going to be July 10, 2004. Another sprint tri in Mays Landing NJ. A mile shorter on the bike and flat! I'm hoping to best my time and leave it all out there! I'm beginning to get excited again and that feels good.