I had a really good swim. Very little contact with other racers, never got off line. It was my first dock start, so I let the ambitious ones dive in and get clear before I hit the water. The water temperature was unpleasant, to say the least. Getting back onto the dock was a challenge, even with the volunteers to help. It took me by surprise how hard it was, since I had no trouble getting back up unassisted after my warm-up swim. Turns out, when there aren't 100 people standing on the floating dock, it gets about 18 inches higher and almost infinitely more difficult to hoist yourself up.

Nothing aside from become a faster swimmer and chose a race before May or after September.

There was a run of about ¼ mile from the swim to the transition on crushed shell. I took my shoes, but not my socks. This was fine until about halfway through the run.
Never considered the difficulty of putting MTB gloves on wet hands, but only lost a few seconds there. Forgot my goggles and left them hanging around my neck for the bike portion. The people on either side of me were there when I came in and were still there when I left.

Remember goggles, put socks on at swim exit.

This was much more difficult than I had expected. I can finish the local 12-mile loop of rolling hills with lots of sugar sand in 1:05 on a regular basis. Only put 1.5 liters in my camelbak. Ran out about 10 miles. I was glad to see the 100% of the other competitors hike-a-biking up the hills that I was most worried about. I'd prefer to see a course a little more consistent, rather than 5 miles of super easy, 2 miles of muddy off-camber blind steep descents and climbs, then back to 6 more miles of super easy.

Completely fill the camelbak. Pick a race in the dry season with heat index less than 105. Not lose my sunglasses.

T2#1: The only time provided by the RD this year was overall. I forgot to hit the lap button on my watch, but I think this was about 30 seconds. Rack the bike, helmet, drop the camelbak and run (shuffle/stumble) out.

T2#2: The 2-loop nature of the run course had us going back through transition before starting the second loop. In a crowded race, this would be a terrible idea. Here, it was just fine. Actually, since I had started working on a blister, I took the time to stop and get my socks.

I'm not sure I have ever been this miserable in my life. HOT HOT HOT HOT. I needed more water. Drank 4 cups at each water stop (transition and mile #1, so roughly once per mile). It still wasn't enough. There was at least 2 miles of walking, combined with slow jogging. At least I didn't finish DFL.

Pick a race that isn't so hot. Run more. Hydrate better.

Guzzle 32 ounces of gatorade/water. Grab some watermelon and pretzels, collapse into car. I weighed 222 the night before the race. Drank 192+ ounces of fluid, and weighed 220 when I got back.


The heat, insufficient run training.


This is by far the hardest race I've ever done. I think it wouldn't be so bad in the winter. The entire event was very low-key and relaxed. Even more so than a regular tri.