They tried to do some different things with how the swimmers were seeded. Seeding some of the slower swimmers up front, followed by a 10-minute break to clear the pool, then most of the MOP swimmers. It was OK I guess, but still had a lot of congestion in the pool. I passed four people, including a few that were walking (the pool is only 4-ft deep).

Pool swims are luck of the draw. If you get clear water in front of you, you can get in a good rythm, otherwise, it is stop and go.

Long run to T1, but once in the TA, my bike was right at the entrance. Then had a long run to the bike start over a rough paved surface. Tough to run with bike shoes. Overall a good T1 time. Little on the dizzy side after the swim.

Not much.

Would have been faster, except got caught behind a white pickup that refused to pass any of the bikers even though there was no traffic coming the other way. Eventually, I just passed him. He was only going about 15mph on what was the fastest part of the the course. Really pissed me off at the time. Passed a ton of bikes, only passed one time.

Push a little harder, definately could have been 21+ on this course.

Tough to run on this surface in the bike shoes. Felt like I was going to go down a few times. Shoes on very quickly (I love lacelocks), no problem with RN belt for once.

Nothing.

Good run. I am always amazed that my bike and run placings are nearly identical. I loved the downhill start, gave you a chance to get into a running rythm without a lot of effort. Struggled a little on on the hills, but did a lot of passing, and only passed one time that I could remember.

Not much. This course is kind of tough due to the hills and actually felt kind of long.

Got in the shade.


Probably didn't push as hard on the bike as I could have. My experience behind the truck definately slowed me down and mentally took me out of the zone for a while. It's just a fine line between saving some for the run and pushing the bike to the limit. I still tend to be a little conservative on the bike.


For a first year race, they really did a great job. Had plenty of post-race activities, well run, lots of giveaways. Really enjoyed it and Tanglewood Park is just a fantastic place for a race.

They probably need to revisit how the did the swim seedings, but I don't know if there is a good way to do it that would avoid all of the congestion in the pool