PennState - 2008-07-20 9:09 PM
Thank you so much for all the kind words on this thread![](https://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/images/emoticons/smile.gif)
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A few thoughts from the race:
1. The swim was pretty violent... a good friend of mine got kicked in the face at the start and lost his goggles. When I saw him running, he had a big cut and bruising around the eye.
2. The bike: It poured and poured. Kind of unsafe, but what can you do. I went all out on the downhills and used the hill climbs in my easier gears as my 'rest' on the bike.
I bonked a bit on the 2nd loop, which affected my speed, but I also lowered the 2nd loop speed to allow a better run... which worked.
3. As Mike said (Rogillio) the problem was chaffing and blisters. My right foot was soaked in blood from cuts. I didn't have dry socks (soaked in transition), so I ran sockless... PAIN!
The 2nd loop of the run around mile 18 I hit a wall.
4. Post race I was shivering a chattering my teeth pretty fierce. Took about an hour to get back to the condo, and have a bath and dry clothes.
5. My family toughed out a terrible weather day, which sucked, but this was all-in-all a wonderful experience. My goal was under 11hrs, but I knew this might have been out of reach... but it wasn't![](https://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/images/emoticons/smile.gif)
6. My coach (Paul Fritsche) finished 6th overall pro!
Wow. What a day! Congrats on your awesome finish