Was a little nervous prior to taking off. First 50 meters were pretty much a blank but felt good. Only started swimming 4 weeks prior since high school so I knew I would be slow. Self seeded myself for a 10 minute swim time but actually felt like I had done better than 9:13 when I exited the water. Stroke seemed to come together for the swim better than it had in previous practice sessions. Breathing went well.

Definitely need more time in the pool practicing strokes and building endurance. Breathing could use some work as well. Time to sign up for some lessons.

T1 time added into bike time so not sure of timeframe. Practiced transitions prior to race so felt comfortable and everything went pretty well. Forgot to remove plastic protectors from cleats on bike shoes so had to stop, take them off and run back to deposit them with my gear, lost about 10-15 seconds. Had major problems getting into my bike pedals! Pedals are new so had a hard time locking in, lost about another 10 seconds.



Make sure all gear is ready to go at transitions. Need more practice getting into pedals, onto bike and off riding.

Rough start getting clipped into new pedals. Hilly at the beginning but nothing serious. Passed at least ten people on route and got passed by one with about two KMs to go but caught him soon and passed him. Generally a fun bike ride with awesome scenery. Lots of fun on return leg going down hills. Course was well marked with plenty of officials along it's length.
Did not put enough in my water bottle and paid the price, mouth was pretty dry on return leg. Caught a nasty pothole speeding downhill that I thought was going to buckle my front wheel.

Practice getting clipped into pedals and bringing more to drink. Need to build endurance on bike as well. Keep a better eye out for potholes and speed bumps.

Everything went well at T2, glad I practiced a bit beforehand. Regretted not wearing a sleeveless top as weather was warmer than anticipated. Grabbed a cup from the water station and was going to splash my face when I realized it was GatorAid and not water, close call!

Wear more appropriate clothing for race conditions. Hydrate more on the bike to prepare for the run. Be more aware of what you are receiving at water stations.

Felt weak starting the run. Breathing was labored and weather had turned warmer. Pretty much ran at 90% of my ability at the beginning. Usually takes about 2.5 KM to get my breathing and stride into rhythm so just started to feel good and the race was pretty much over. Wore half sleeve top and should have gone sleeveless because felt too hot. Passed about five people on the run.

Need more endurance for the run and need to practice bricks to get a better feel for the legs and lungs going from the bike to run.

Drank some liquids and ate a bit after run.


definitely have to improve swim times if I am going to progress in this sport. Since this was my first triathlon, I suppose the lack of knowledge of doing all three sports is sequence was something new.
Small mistakes and miscues added to my overall time but I think overall I made less mistakes than I thought I would.


Had a ton of fun, especially on the bike ride. It was good to rid some of my jitters speaking with other participants and officials (who were all great by the way). I was surprised by how well I did since I decided only one month prior to buy a bike and do this race.
I'd also like to thank all the other athletes who have taken the time to fill out these race reports as they helped me immensely in preparing for my first ever triathlon.