What a swim! I was in a sea of people and didn't bother sighting much in the beginning. I finally looked up and thought "where is that $#%$%#@ bouy?" Then I looked to my left and I was passing it! I had no idea I had gone that far already.

The second leg is where I started to veer right again. Kept trying to get back to the course so I could draft some more, but it wasn't happening. I know what I'm working on this winter.

I was expecting a :45 swim time and when I came out of the water I thought my stopwatch was broken. I never expected less than 30min. Now, I have to wonder if that course was short.

Swim straight! If I swim straight, I can draft better and I can get a far better time.

I sloshed my feet in there anywhere and stepped onto my towel to put my socks on (yes, I must wear socks). Smooth transition overall.

They sprayed our feet as we came into T1 so I probably didn't need my wash bucket.

I passed a total of 8 people (after subtracting the 2 that passed me) and I'm not counting the guy I passed who had a flat. Good bike overall.

As my stopwatch went past 1:30, I thought to myself "that's a major league soccer match!"


Pick up some water at the aid station. Just in case. I didn't need it, but if it had gotten any hotter, I would have. The aero bottle was empty as I rolled into transition. I could have taken that extra bottle with me on the run and ditched it later (I didn't know it was kosher to do so).

I still can't ride very well with my feet on top of my shoes - especially when you have to go up a hill just before transistion. The ground was soft just after the dismount line so I didn't see a need to try it here. If there were a significant road run afterwards, I'd consider.

Unclip BOTH feet before trying to jump off bike. Almost bit it right in front of my wife and kids.

I completely imploded on the run. I was fine for about 1 mile and then my left leg totally cramped on me. I don't know how long I stood there trying to bend it, but the volunteer asked me twice if I was SURE I didn't need any help.

I ran, at most, half the time.

More training. Need to get my long run up to about 9 miles before attempting this again.

Walked around a while. There was no way I was going to run around.


I was very happy about the swim and the bike wasn't bad either. I need to concentrate on my run base this winter. Perhaps some more bricks, too.


I came into this race not sure I would finish. I did not train enough but since I already paid, I figured I'd go for it. I'm glad I did it, though. I don't really care I was last in my age group. Not a bad rookie year and next year will be much better.