Did a kick flip on the first wall and I overturned, took on water and it took me a few lengths to recover. Got passed at the wall midway. Soon after I passed a couple of swimmers at a wall and headed towards the end. Never felt comfortable, was trying to catch my breath the entire way, but my time was right around what I was shooting for.

Swim smooth and easy from the get go. Didn't notice, but wife told me I came out sprinting and had almost caught the guy ahead me after the first lap. Probably just adrenaline being my first tri. Need to really work on my flip turns and keeping a steady pace from start to finish.

Took a long time in T1, but I was ok with it because it was cold and wet. I put on cycling pants, socks, toboggan, gloves, and long sleeve under armor.

Put flip flops next to pool exit because the dag gum parking lot was full of little pebbles that did not feel good running on with frozen feet. Hopefully next race will be warmer so I can just grab my helmet and bike and go.

It took probably 2 miles before I actually caught my breath from the swim/transition. My old bike is great for training, but if I am going to keep doing this I will need to invest in a better set up. I passed a couple of racers and got passed by 3-4...all on Tri bikes. I went back and forth with another guy that I caught. He was riding a nice Specialized Roadie and I would pass him on the flats and downhills and then he would pass me on the climbs. I ended up ahead of him at T2. I ended up pretty disappointed with my bike, it was much slower than my goal. I really need to hit the hills.

Need to learn to love the hills. Need to get more aero going into the wind. Ride faster.

I wore pants on the bike so I had to slip them off and I tied my shoes and then stretched my hams a little bit. Tried to take a gel and it about made me puke so I had to swallow some water, noticed my wife taking pictures and they were playing Kid Rock so I mentioned that to her. Still was suprised it took so long. Time really goes by fast in Transitions.

Need to research shoes/laces and get a better set up there. Hopefully next race will be warm so I can just throw on my shoes and go. I will not try to take a gel and water during Transition. I can do that on the bike.

I could hardly move my legs for the first half mile. I wanted to stop so bad but one my goals was not to stop during the race. I kept going jogging at barely a walk pace and then finally caught my stride and my breath. I am not sure, but I was guess my first mile was a 10+ mile and the next 2 were mid 8's. I felt like I ran good after I caught my breath. Ran good for me anyway. I need to work on my running more than any of the other legs. I was one spot from being last my AG and I though I ran good for me so that says a lot.

Run through the wall that I hit in the first mile. Need to keep training and running some speed drills to try and improve my pace.

45 seconds after the race I had my breath back so I guess I did go as hard as I could have. Ate warm potatoe and warmed up inside then returned to watch others finish.


My endurance. Need to contine to train.


I enjoyed the race. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to completing many more and my goal is to do an Olympic this year. I wasn't the fastest, but I was satisfied because I felt like I built a good base to improve from. Racing certainly shows you were you need to improve.