I thought the swim went pretty well. Unlike my first triathlon in Tyler, TX, last year (where I did sidestroke for about 90% of the course), I was able to freestyle the entire course!

As I got to the end of the swim course and into the shallow water (but still shy of the finish buoys), I stood up and started running through the mid-thigh deep water towards the shore. That was a mistake because I ended up working my leg muscles more than I wanted prior to the bike!

Everything went pretty smoothly, but I think I need to practice my transitions here at home. Perhaps I need to setup a small transition rack in my backyard and run through the process so I can get my time down.

Practice at home.

Because I was traveling from Texas, I borrowed a friend's bike and rode it for the tri. It was a really nice LiteSpeed titanium bike with Ultegra components throughout. I brought my own saddle and pedals so it would be as comfortable as possible.

Unfortunately, around Mile 6, the seat post started sliding down and I wasn't able to use my whole leg during the pedal stroke. Instead, I ended up working my quads. A lot.

By the time I got to the run, I felt like my quads were shot.

The next time I do a triathlon where I travel a long distance, I'm shipping my own tri bike. Period.

Because my seat post was gradually sliding down during the ride, I couldn't get the hooky part of my Adamo saddle over the transition rack without removing my saddle bag... and it was still tight.

I need to keep my head in the game. Instead of taking off my saddle bag and still struggling to rack my bike, I should have just turned my bike around and racked it using the brakes.

I felt a lot better than last year in Tyler. In my Tyler tri, I ate wrong and ended up getting major side cramps during 2/3 of the run. In this tri, I ate better and was able to improve my pace from a 9:30/mile to a 7:55/mile.

I put my shoes on and, getting ready to leave transition, realized that I forgot to tie them in double knots. That slowed me just a bit. Next time (Jefferson Triathlon in Jefferson, TX), I'll have Lock Laces or something similar.

I stretched a bit and worked on clearing out my quads. This included stretching, walking, light jogging, and more walking.


Having my seatpost drop during the bike really messed up my performance. It was very frustrating, but not having that problem would have allowed me to use my entire leg on the downstroke, and I think that would have sped me up.