Was worried about not having a wetsuit. I think I counted three other people who didn't have one. However, I was able to use the four minutes between waves to get wet and ease the initial shock from the cold. It was actually comfortable after the first few minutes. I started a bit fast to get out of the crowd but there wasn't much bumping at all. The long straight course left plenty of room to start and no bunching at the first turn. Caught the first wave about half way down the first side, made the turn. Felt like I went wide a few times and could have sighted better. Was mostly following the other swimmers which isn't always smart.

Better sighting.

Was a relatively long run from the lake to the transition. Would have been nice to have a mat down for the gravel parts but as one person noted, "your feet will be so cold you won't notice". I didn't see anyone else with their shoes already clipped in. Interesting. Hope I'm not missing something. Perhaps it was the narrow and crowded exit. I had mine in, so it was an easy run with the bike and running mount. Either way, the T1 was excellent by time as compared to the field.

9/32 AG and 38/278 overall

Run faster out of the water.

Bike started off well. Felt in a good cadence and was working the hills. Started to get some stomach tightness around mile 18. Likely feeling some of the effects of being sick earlier this week. Legs also fatigued some toward the end and I slowed down. Hauling my 10 year old bike up the hills likely had some effect but the ride wasn't very long compared to training. Was a bit cautious on some of the downhills and braked at one turn. Bike is turning into more of a weakness.

Work on speed training. And hills too.

T2 was slow. 27/32 240/278 Legs felt sluggish after the bike and hammys were unusually tight. Maybe need to adjust bike seat. Took my time putting socks and shoes on, stretched some. Debated about nutrition but decided against. The shoes off and dismount was excellent (just like Mike R's video). Again, saw most people running with shoes on.


Run faster. Wouldn't do much technically different. I took extra time for socks but had the Zoots which worked fine again.

Legs were tight the first mile. Felt some cranky spots on legs from prior training week (knee and new achillies issue). They all worked about by mile 1 (8:30) and felt great. It was a big difference running in the cool weather up north. The heat exhaustion that normally kicks in a mile 1 wasn't there. Body said go faster but I knew I needed to pace since this was my first Oly and I'm glad I did. Things started to tighten up a bit at around mile 4. Achillies got really tight which was odd because I never had any issues in training. Lungs could push faster but the achillies said no. Went as fast as I could and finished with as much speed as I could muster.

Taper more. Legs were worn out. Not do a Sprint the week before.

Walking to the car right after so we could drive back to VA.


Tired legs. Managing the week prior to the event.

Nurtrition is still a question for me on longer races and training. All I had was gatorade on the bike. I had a gel ready but decided against it. Remove for improvement here. I felt fine overall but likely need to get some fuel for optimal performance. Perhaps it was the cooler weather but didn't feel depleted or thirsty the whole way. Skipped most of the aid stations.

This will become a bigger issue as now I have my first Oly under the belt and thoughts start to turn toward the Half.


A large but well run race. Food at the end was ok. Many volunteers and aid stations. The run course was very spectator friendly with the two loops and course set-up.