I started a little fast and felt it after the first 100, but then settled nicely into a rhythm. Passed one person after 100 yards, and was passed by someone else in the final 100. Some of our other BTers were cheering me on as I climbed out of the pool. Thanks!

More practice controlling pace in early laps. Less head rotation when breathing. Oh yeah, and start my watch.

A little trouble with one sock, but still managed a quick time. Even managed a running start onto the bike and away I went.

Perhaps I'll try starting with shoes on the bike next year and see how much it really helps, if at all.

Got up to speed pretty quickly and then adjusted my shoes. Being wet from the swim, it was a little chilly at first, but I warmed up after the first mile or so. The course was slightly hillier than I remembered, and I wondered if I was going to be razzed later for telling folks in another thread that it was all flat.

Overall it was a good ride. I pushed the bike a little harder than I expected too, but made a strategic decision not to focus on my heart rate for this race. I think it was a good decision in the end. Did a good job keeping my cadence up, even on hills, and staying aero nearly the entire ride, which made for some fun corners.

There was one short section where we left the road for a bike trial. It was a no-pass zone because of 5 or 6 right hand turns and a footbridge in a 200 yard stretch. Fortunately, there was noone anywhere near me when I hit this section. I never got passed and I had passed quite a few people in the first quarter of the ride, and saw very few people after that.

I didn't use any nutrition, and only had water in my bottle. It was a cool day, and I've been training to not use as much nutrition for shorter races, to avoid 'bogging down' or cramping on the run.

Nothing, it was a good ride.

This was a great T2... well, sorta.

I did a good job of getting on top of my shoes before T2 (not too early, not too late). I timed a running dismount right at the line and never stopped moving. My helmet was off before I reached the rack, got the bike off smoothly, and then...

..I heard, "David! Shoe!" and turned just in time to see a shoe come arcing in from the dismount area. I caught the shoe, dropped it onto my towel, grabbed my running shoes and slipped them on, and quickly took off for the run.

The shoe thing was particularly annoying because I was having such a good race. I knew the shoe could be an "Equipment Abandonment" because the same thing happened to a friend of mine at the Tri-America race. I decided there was nothing I could do about it and to forget it, at which point I promptly realized I'd forgotten to put on my race number. Doh!

As icing on the cake, the T2 mat apparently didn't register my chip, so I don't know my actual time. However, it was defintely a fast T2.

Just the obvious...

Felt like I was starting out very slowing as I left transition. Was worried about the possible penalties from T2 (shoe and race number), but didn't worry about it for too long. Pace picked up in first half, but I was careful not to push too hard. Enjoyed the pleasant tree-lined run. Ramped up after the turnaround and notched it up even more with a 1/4 mile left.

Didn't take any water other than to wet my mouth, but I don't drink much when training so this worked out fine.

Had to estimate the T2/run split because of the chip problem, but it looks like my time would rank me somewhere in the low-to-mid 30s overall for the run. Overall, I was happy with the run.

Gotta work on my run speed - it's where I've consistently lost ground in my races. I was 3rd in my age group all the way the until the run, but only 8th on the run.

I'm pretty bad about warming down properly. I just grabbed some gatorade and part of a bagel, talked with my wife and my friend's wife, and chased the kiddo around. Found Kevin and Aaron and chatted for a bit about the race.

When my friend came in from the bike leg about 30 min later, I joined him for moral support on the run. While out there, a little before the halfway point, I found Patrick, who was struggling with some cramps. I let my friend go ahead, and I ran with Patrick for a bit before chasing down my buddy. BTer Mandy passed us going the other direction as we were coming up to the turnaround. Enjoyed another sprint at the end when I ran ahead to let the families know that my friend was near the finsh. Even after this 2nd run, I never really stretched, which I regretted later.


A nice local race. Small # of racers, pools swim, fairly easy bike course, and shaded run make this an excellent race for beginners.
Bagels, bananas, oranges, and Gatorade available afterwards, plus option to purchase Smoothies. Goodie bag had a nice long-sleeve cotton t-shirt and some hammer gel, but not much else.

It was great meeting all the BTers in person and cheering for each other. This is my last tri for this year, but I hope I'll be seeing some of you at next Spring's races.