I felt OK prior to the start, I got in and warmed up a little. The water felt very cold. I started to the outside and in the back and got caught in a melee. It was very hard to get a rhythm going, I got bumped a lot during the first 100 meters or so. When I tried to sight, I felt like the sun was right in my face, it was low on the horizon and I really couldn't see anything. I swam way right of the buoy, I didn't even see the buoy until I was almost past it. After the first turn I did better but still couldn't see very well as I would get blinded during each breath. I felt a little better after the 3rd buoy and actually got a rhythm going but it was too late!

Get some mirrored goggles, get better at breathing on my left side, that could have solved a lot of my problems. After watching the video, I think I should have started in the back on the inside, I think I could have found some cleaner water there. Good lesson learned.

T1 was good, I was happy to get out of the water actually. My feet were very numb while running on the concrete. Wetsuit came off easily as always, then put on the shoes, helmet and glasses and took off.

Running barefoot with the bike while having tri shoes already clipped in would have saved some time. It was kindof a long run out of transition to the bike mount line.

Very cold in the beginning, I was a little worried but then warmed up quickly. The course was very confusing on the map but was marked very well and staffed well, navigation was no problem. There were a lot of hazards, puddles, potholes, gravel, etc. Navigating through traffic was difficult at times due to it being a multi-lap course. A lot of faster people were passing on the right.

Just go a little faster! This is a good course for a road bike.

Long transition chute on slippery concrete. I tried to remove my shoes at the dismount line but couldn't so I just ran in the them. Had to go really slow, it was wet and slippery.

Tri cycling shoes would have been nice here, there was a wide slow section prior to the Bike-In chute where I could have gotten out of my shoes.

Legs felt very heavy in the beginning. I felt like I was barely moving. I felt better the second lap and was able to negative split the run so I think I paced myself well. This is pretty much my regular pace for this distance.

Just get faster on the run, I was passed by a lot of people, I probably lost at least 20 or 30 positions. It was nice to have the aid station at the turn-around.

Water and walk, light stretching.


Lack of sleep really took it's toll. I didn't have the swim I expected to have and I was a little disappointed in my performance and that brought me down a bit. Overall, I thought I should have done better but I'm thankful to be able to to finish the race in the middle of pack. This time last year I was just starting to run again and trying to swim 25 yards so I'm happy with what I've accomplished this year. This is my third race, I've made good progress.


Good race, good volunteers, well staffed and well run. It's a good event. I would like to do it again next year but I think they're moving the date from Nov to July which is too bad, there are a lot of races around here in July.