The end of the swim was a bit confusing. Once you made the final turn, a lot of people swam straight towards the beach, but there were some pink buoys as you approached the shore and a kayak seemed to be funneling swimmers to make another turn to the right (90 degree angle) along the buoy line, then a left (90 degree angle) to head towards the shore. I think most swimmers (like myself) followed this path, but others just swam a straight line over the pink buoy line and onto the shore. I think I could've shaved a bit more time off if I had gone straight.



Train more so I could swim harder and try to get in a wave that had different cap colors. I think I surprised myself with my swim time and further proved that I don't train hard enough when I swim, so now I need to step it up.

Still need to work on my transitions; I took some time here to grab a drink of water and didn't really rush to get my shoes on. The run from the beach to the transition area was pretty long and as I mentioned above, my legs weren't there yet, so I didn't run at a great pace.

My buddy that I picked up that morning and also swim with from time to time is generally a significantly faster swimmer than I am during our shared workouts. So I was hoping to see him in the transition area as I ran up; imagine my surprise when I got to my bike and didn't see him, but still saw his bike. At first I was thrilled, then I worried that something had gone wrong during the swim (turns out he was fine, just didn't have a great swim).

Run faster to the transition area and not waste time grabbing a nice leisurely drink, but my legs were feeling tight, so I thought it was the right thing to do.

A couple weeks before the race I went on a ride with my buddy in Austin and he shared his riding philosophy with me - sit in the saddle and take the hills a little easy and make sure you spin the entire time rather than hammering it out and expending too much energy for the run. I headed his advice because I suffered through some cramping in my second race (Lonestar Quarter in March) during the run and I didn't want to repeat this. I also don't think I pushed it as hard as I could on the bike because my hamstrings were a bit tight at the beginning of the ride and I didn't want to suffer on the run.

Found a couple of riding buddies early on; I would pass one of them on the downhills and he passed me on the uphill and the other I would pass on the flat sections and he would pass me on the uphill. We shared some friendly conversation at times and then one of them dropped off and we didn't see him again. Eventually passed my other road buddy, but he caught me again as we entered the park. During the last 5-10 miles of the ride there was a nice little drizzle that kept me cool. Didn't experience any issues with water on the road.

I think I could've pushed it a little harder and possible consumed more fluids during the ride, but my goal after my first race was to average 20 mph by the end of the season and I achieved that goal for this race, so I'm hoping to improve by the time TexasMan roles around in September. I was able to get aero more often than I have in past rides, which probably helps, but I still get numbness in the man region, so i need to check out my bike fit and position to get things right.

Still tie my shoes, so I need to look into something to help get my shoes on faster. I didn't wear socks this time (not part of my strategy, I simply left them in the car that morning) and that seemed to help transition time. I had a gu pack I was going to take with me on the run, but it got lodged under the bike rack and when I went to grab it, it busted all over the cement. That slowed me down a bit, but no more than a 5-10s.

Get a better way to put shoes on, have gu in my tri shirt or on my belt and I will bring socks.

I didn't cramp!! This was a big victory for me bc it really slowed me down at Lonestar. I probably could've used a gu halfway through the run, but I drank the accelerade they were offering. I didn't like the ice in the beverages, it made it slightly difficult to drink. I didn't wear socks and I think this slowed me down a bit. With about 1.5-2 miles left, i started to feel some hot spots, but i fought through it; fortunately, they didn't turn out to be anything major. The beginning of the run felt like a real struggle (really need to begin incorporating some bricks) so I took it easy. I got passed up early on by some solid runners and instead of trying to pace with them, I just took it easy during the beginning. After the turn around the legs were warmed up and ready to move a bit, so I turned up the speed. Started to feel my energy stores depleted and really wished I hadn't smashed that gu pack in transition. After the turnaround I saw my buddy, got a high five and he told me to go get it, so I did. Closer to the finish line I saw my bike buddy and he yelled "good run 620" - thanks friend. As I got closer and knew the end was in sight I picked up the pace. Averaged a HR of 162 for the beginning of the race and got it up around 173 by the end.

Wear socks or do more training without them (but the spray on the course and difficulty drinking the beverages full of ice contributed to the wetness of my shoes and therefore the hot spots). I would bring some gu with me and definitely need to do more brick training.

Waited for my buddy to finish, drank some water and ate some pretzels. Then ate some snacks on my way home.


All the things I mentioned in the 'What would you do differently' sections above.


I had a good time, it wasn't anything special, but it seemed organized and safe. Would've liked some better aid stations and post-race food. Also, getting nice some nice treats in the race packet is always a plus. It was exactly what I expected and I had a great time. Look forward to the group's next race in September and hope to meet some more BTers at the next event.