Needed to be more aggresive on this one. I stationed myself near the outside and a few rows back. I ended up fighting alot of people through to the first buoy. At that point I found myself near the front of the pack and creating space. 8 minutes is a respectable time for my first attempt, and I am VERY happy with my performance and how I felt coming out of the water.

Sure, had I been more aggresive, I probably could have made up time, but I made sure that my focus was on soaking in every minute, not my time. Well, that, and finishing, too! :)

Nothing, really, I guess. Be a bit more aggresive in the next one, but I felt my form was great, my breathing was very much under control, sighting was dead on. Almost TOO good for my first tri OWS!!

I REALLY wanted to make sure I took my time with this one. I had to put in my hearing aids at this stage and wanted to be sure to get my ears nice and dry. I also decided to put on arm warmers, which ended up being a really good call. I felt great coming out of the swim, so I was able to jog, not walk, down the path into transition.

The bummer was that my chain dropped before I even got on the bike, so I had to spend another minute putting that back on. Oh well. HTFU and keep going, right? :)

I was really pleased with how I kept my wits about me and never panicked or started feeling rushed. I was 100% aware of my surroundings and really losing myself in the moment. Too cool.

Got on the bike and went, looking forward to the thigh-burning, face-melting, soul-stealing hills that awaited...

Nothing. I felt great about how it went, and this time will drop as I get more experience and come up with ways to get my aids in quicker.

This is where my race went south. Somehow, whether I bumped it, or a competitor bumped it, my front deraileur got bent. I was currently in my middle chainring, and that was my only option. I could'nt go down to granny gear for the uphills, or up to the big ring for the down hills.

This was a pivotal moment as I discovered this less than 50 yds up the first hill on DL. What do I do? I knew that my training was done right when I spent less than 2 seconds pondering the question. I HTFU'd and kept going. I told myself to embrace the challenge, and not worry about things I can't control, but focus on the one thing I CAN control, which is my attitude. Thank you Mike Reilly for that bit of wisdom.

My legs were cursing me big time, but I guess I didn't care....

Course was the normal insane hills that everyone talks about. The roads weren't in too bad a condition, some spots required a little extra attention, but nothing crazy except for a patch of packed down dirt, which was easy to coast over, and it was well marked.

Thanks to all the volunteers who hung out in the crummy weather to help us out!

I loved the re-entry into the park! Fast, with the rising crescendo of fans cheering on as you got closer. Goosebumps, man, goosebumps.

Well marked transition entry, had me thanking God that I made it this far.

Nothing here, either. Ride fixie so I don't have to worry about a front derailleur? :)

This was pretty fast, I really made up alot of ground here. Again, really happy with how I kept my mind clear and focused on the task at hand. Bike racked, shoes off, socks on, shoes on, banana, hat, go. Sweet.

Nada.

Are you kidding me? This was the best part! Dave caught up with me after I smoked him in transition. :) We decided to finish the run leg together and enjoy the moment. Great idea, I think. We chatted a bit about our first tri experience, future training and competition plans, and how cool everyone is.

Jay joined up with us during the last 3/4 mile, said something to the effect of " I've been chasing your ass all day, now I'm going to ride you in to the finish!" Awesome, it felt so cool to come down the chute running next to 2 other first timers, all with huge smiles on our face and soaking it in. My eyes even welled up a bit. Not sure why...

Awesome, awesome, awesome... It's all I can say.

Nothing, overall, I was very surprised at how relatively smooth the race as a whole went, nothing major. I mean sure, the derailleur didn't work, but at least my fork didn't break or anything like that, right?

Saw my folks and posed for a couple of pictures, went and grabbed my change of clothes and got dry. Got a sub from Po Boys and a few powerbars, drank a ton of water. Watched the finish line for a while, then loaded up the car and headed home.


Dysfunctional front derailleur. Swim was great, and the run was great. The bike was a grind out session against "them thar hills."


Well organized, superb volunteers. Would recommed this as a first tri to anyone! But get your hill practice in for sure....