This swim was a world of pain and suffering. This was my first open water swim, my first group swim, and my first time in a wetsuit. I was mentally prepared for the group and the open water but I was not prepared for the wetsuit. I'm not a strong swimmer to begin with and I haven't been swimming for long at all (about 6 weeks total). My plan was to get on the far right and just get locked into a nice slow rythem just like I practiced. I wasn't going to worry about time and just concentrate on finding a rythem and sticking to it. After five seconds in the water I realized that I just plain couldn't swim like I'm used to while wearing the wetsuit. Normally I'm really relaxed and fluid in my training but in this suit I couldn't find my balance in the water and couldn't find a good breathing rythem. I was wearing a borrowed wetsuit and I think it was too tight around my chest. I felt VERY constricted breathing and in the shoulders and had trouble sticking to my three strokes before a breath plan. I would stroke three times and then roll to my side and huff and puff. I spent a huge amount of time just lying on my back and kicking. I wasn't paniced but I just couldn't swim in this suit. I never did find my stroke and was overjoyed to get out of the water. I was shocked to see that I didn't finish dead last in my age group. I think I would have done dramatically better if I had just swam without a wetsuit.

I would have eaten better before the start. I would have practiced swimming in a wetsuit. I would have gotten a wetsuit that fit me. I probably should have just swam in my regular suit. I just need more experience swimming.

The bike is my happy event so I was trying to put the horror of the swim behind me, relax, and just focus on how happy I was to be getting on my bike. I deliberately went slow because I knew my bike was going to be my best split and I wanted to get on that bike ready to rock. I was also planning to put on a new bike jersey that was super tight and not a fullzip so I spent extra time drying off and took my time with getting the shirt on. It was a bad transition overall but I think it was time well spent for my head. It's something I need to improve on but I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

I should have taken a bathroom break before the start of the race. I needed to pee then but I just figured I'd pee in the water. For some reason I just couldn't pee while swimming and so I headed into transition with a full bladder. There is a lot I could have done to improve this transition but I'm fine with it for my first race.

The bike is my love and I loved my ride. I held back on the first lap and then pushed a little harder on the second. I think I gave the right effort throughout the entire race and was really happy with my performance. However, I could tell that my stomach was freaking out and the run was going to be a suffer fest. I knew I was screwed but it wasn't that bad while I was riding. I also did a great job of staying aero with all the wind. I spent about 95% of the race in my bars and think I chose an excellent gear and cadence.

I needed more training on flat courses where I can sit in the bars for the whole time. I'm used to hills and wasn't as strong as I could be in a 40k TT in the flats. My position on the bike could have been better too. My bike is setup for road riding and I could feel that I wasn't getting the power I should have been getting from the aerobars. I also needed to eat better. I could tell I was screwed on the run. I carried two bottles and both were filled with acelerade + water. I needed a straight water bottle or a gatorade rain bottle to settle my stomach. My hydration sucked but my muscles stuck it out just fine.

This transition was ho-hum. I took time to dig some shorts out of my bag so I wouldn't have to run in my tri-shorts. It wasn't a good thing for the race time but considering how much time I had to hang out in race clothes after the race I was glad I'd added the shorts. I just walked and took it easy. I knew my stomach was screwed so I put my pain off for just a bit.

Laid out my clothes better. I could have been more optimal. The nutrition problems really started catching up with me here and I had to pee REALLY badly.

This was pure suffering. I started the run with a bathroom stop and I knew that I was about to endure more pain than I have during any of my training. The first three miles of the run were the most painful exercise that I have ever done in my entire life. My stomach was bloated out of control and my abs were so cramped up that I had to clutch my side to just keep my legs moving. I really had to pull out the will power to fight through that start and try to get my self under control. Eventually I was able to relax enough that my pain became manageable and found my legs. Once I started running I found an awesome pace and really turned it up towards the finish. I had plenty of fitness and I held back perfectly on the bike but the cramping really screwed up my time. Next time I will turn in a substancially better time.

I paid the price for terrible nutrition and hydration with three miles of pain and suffering. Next time I won't do that.

I should have warmed down better but I didn't care. I just sat on the ground and drank water. It was a good race but it would have been an amazing race if I had done the nutrition better.


The bloating and cramping killed my run and the wetsuit killed my swim. If I had been able to have my oatmeal breakfast as planned and eaten the gels when I wanted to then I would have had a lot more energy. I also held back a lot more than I needed to. My training prepared me for a MUCH harder race than this was and I paced myself too slow. My body and mind was ready to completely crush this thing and had I eaten better, hydrated better, and held less back then I would have had the race of my dreams. Next year, next year...


I liked the race on the whole. The course was easy and very well managed. This is a great first triathlon. My only complaint was that parking was difficult and the finish was a long way from the transition. Traffic was TERRIBLE and it took forever to get back to transition to get my stuff. Other than that I was quite pleased with the overall experience. I'd do this race again.