I started off near the left start marker, was less crowded and I didn't want to get kicked and swatted right near the start. Had a group of 3 right near me and used them to navigate the first 200. Was able to swim the next 100 with good navigation, and then for some reason I started to veer out away from the Colonel. Was able to catch my breath at the 400 mark and finish strong around the final buoy.

Wow, what a feeling running up the hill toward the wetsuit strippers.

Would have started farther over to the right in order to get a better line for the overall course.

Had to wait for one of the wetsuit strippers to come over, was like they were keeping track of how many each person had done, but they definately got it off faster than I could have. Tried to job down to my area, dried off my feet, put on my socks and shoes, sucked down a gel shot, put on my sunglasses and helmet and jogged towards the mount point. After passing over the mount line, I wasted about 25 seconds trying to get my first shoe locked in (not quite ready to go with the shoes already attached).

Would have tried to not be so bewildered as I entered T1, being my first race and thus first T1 I was kind of overwhelmed with all of the action aroun me. Will run harder from the water into the transition and then with my bike out. Work on starting with my shoes already locked in.

Once I got on the bike, I took out nice and easy while heading out of Moody Gardens. Glad I drove the course the night before, was ready for the speedbumps. Once I got onto Seawall Blvd, I settled in and just focused on finishing the bike portion. Very exciting to get those first passes out of the way (and to have actually passed someone!!!!). Had one scary moment when someone tried to pass me on the right just after I had passed someone else. Settled in on my tri bars and just enjoyed the experience. Didn't even notice that I had a tailwind until I made the turn and hit the wind coming in over the beach. Glad that the wind wasn't blowing that hard after the first mile on the turn around. Hit the final turn and the downhill and tried to get back into T2, as I now knew I could do this.

What won't I do differently next time!!! Will start with my shoes already locked in, will be sure to pay attention to the wind, will push myself harder after knowing now that I can actualy do it.

On the way into the bike dismount, I unlocked my right shoe and thought that I felt my left shoes unlock. NOT!!! Right when I got to the dismount, I stopped and went to put my left foot down (Very bad time to figure out that my shoe was still locked in). So, I was the guy laying parallel on the black Cannondale. Jumped up after getting my left shoe unlocked and jogged into T2 with my bike. Got my bike racked up pretty good, got my shoes and helmet off. Took tme to swap out my wet socks for dry ones before the run. Was so excited that I finished the bike, I forgot to gel on the bike, so sucked down another gel in T2. Put on my shoes and ran out for the run start.

Well, obviously I will work on leaving my shoes locked and taking my feet off just before the bike dismount.

This was definatly the best part of my race. It felt so awesome coming out of T2 with all of those people cheering you on. I took the first 300 to try and make sure I was feeling good, once I did the first U turn I was feeling really good. Walking the course the night before definately worked as I already had the mile markers spaced out, so I settled into my pace I had been running during training and focused on the fact that I was ready to finish my first race. Was glad to have the sponges to wet myself down, took water at the first and last stations, and had gatorade at the middle one. Felt good and felt even better as I kept passing several runners. I don't know where it came from, but after passing the last left turn behind the expo tent, I was almost sprinting up the final leg. I finished strong, way too strong as I could have went harder over the rest of the course if I had known I still had this left.

Very excited that my pace for this race was faster than the stand-alone 5k that I ran last month as part of my training!!!!!

One funny note I would like to add here. The night before I went to the carb load dinner at which Simon Lessing attended. As I was heading down the main part of the course just past the parking garage, right before I did the U turn to head back up the side road, Simon runs past me. Ok, the first thing that goes through my mind is why is he running this race, and secondly, Why was he running behind me? It dawned on me after he came to a stop that he was doing his workout while we were running the race, and he then ran past me twice more. But, definately a good story that I was passed by and then passed Simon Lessing during my first Sprint Triathlon.



I would have pushed myself more during the majority of the run course if I knew I had that much left at the end.

After crossing the finish line and letting out a huge yell that signaled my first ever Sprint finish, I walked around to stay loose and then stretched out


I think my main limitation was that I was just wanting to finish my first race. Now that I know I can do it, I can really work on getting faster for my next race.


Was really glad to get my first race out of the way. Will definately try to be back in October with the goal of doing the Olympic distance at the HI-FI Tri.