This was an awesome experience. It was my first event OWS and I had a blast. At the start it was a little crazy. At the horn everyone just starting swimming, it wasn’t an official beach start. I got hit and kicked a few times, but no big deal. I had to adjust my line at least once to swim around people in front of me. At the turn I got hit in the face pretty hard, but it didn’t slow me down. I finally found my groove on the way back to the beach. I literally swam over two people that were swimming very closely to each other side by side. They wouldn’t make room, so I just went over.

The only thing I think I need to work on is a breast stroke for turning around the buoy. A lot of swimmers were doing this and I think it would have made it easier to actually turn instead of continuing my freestyle and sighting (potentially expending more energy). I really enjoyed this swim as well as the benefits to the entire field beginning at the same time.

T1 was pretty much as expected performance wise. I had to run a little ways from the water to get to my bike and through the sand. I washed my feet with an extra water bottle (prepared for this) then proceeded with the rest of my transition. Shirt went on about as typical so this delayed me as usual.

I need to consider getting a tri shirt/top that I can swim in and wear the entire race. If I wouldn’t have had to put a shirt on, I could have flown through T1.

I surprised myself with this ride as I was able to sustain 17+ mph throughout 95% of the bike. I maintained my position in the crowd fairly well (passed by a few expensive bikes and fierce competitors early).

Not sure there was a ton I could have done differently. I pushed myself pretty hard and finished strong. Maybe I could have pushed more, but I think that would have made my run suffer.

Easy in, drop off and out. I got off the bike easily, ran into TA, quickly dropped off bike and was off again on my run. Several people in the TA, but none of them got in and out as fast as I did while I was there. I made up several places in T2.

I did get off my bike a bit too far from the dismount line. I could have gotten a little closer and not had to run as far, but it probably only accounted for a couple seconds.

My start was a little “heavy” but it was a quick 2 miles, so I forced myself into the groove. Passed a few and got passed by a few on the run. Good pace overall. I picked up the pace the last straightaway and sprinted the last 50 paces as usual.

Not a lot to do differently. I felt like I pushed myself fairly hard. Could have gone faster at times, but without dying at the end, I’m satisfied with my performance.

Walked into TA to get my water. Then I had some powerade. After resting a few minutes, I had a breakfast burrito and a ton more liquids. I ended up having another breakfast burrito.


I beat my goal time of 60 minutes by 2:30, so I’m pleased. I might have been able to do each event just a little faster, but without knowing the course better and my performance on such a short sprint, I am completely satisfied with my performance. Looking forward to this fun, inexpensive race next year!


Great race. Well organized for a smaller event. Need more bike racks as some people ended up laying their bikes on the ground. Great post-race snacks. Plenty of volunteers at the few turns that were required. There was even a photographer. Overall, I can’t complain with this event or my performance.

*Note: All times above are approximate as there was no chip timer provided. Split estimates are based upon my watch time.