Pool swim. I'd have to say the most frustrating part of the race. Start times were set by racer submitted avg swim times for 450 yards and it appeared that many were way out of place. Due to my SLAP tear I asked to be moved to a later start since I was unsure how fast I'd be. Swimmers went in every 15 seconds and had to do 2 lengths in each lane which made it tough to pass since swimmers were coming the other way. Coupled with people swimming slower than expected and it got really difficult. I could have been 2-3 minutes faster I think but had to keep stopping for traffic before I could pass people and once collided with a swimmer coming the other way. The start was also late and being near the back I didn't get into the water until 45 minutes after the start time which meant much hotter bike and run conditions.

Not wear a cycling jersey. Pain int he ass to get onto a wet body and took some time

My road bike had a broken crank so had to take out the new tt bike without having ridden it prior so it was challenging. Staying aero was fine but had a sever calf & foot cramp in my left leg...bad enough that I had to stop and get off the bike for a couple minutes. It was crazy humid out and my stomach wasn't getting along with the Heat Endurance drink I had which I think caused the cramps

Not bring a new bike to a race and bring a couple of different drinks

Waited on my buddy for a few in T2 hoping he would catch up so we could run together. It was his first tri in 20 years and he was on a super heavy mountain bike so I expected him to be a little behind. After a few minutes I decided to start running and keep an eye out for him on the course since he's a better runner.

Nothing really...normally I don't spend time waiting in transition for a friend but since this was a fun event...

Drank a little more heat endurance in T2 and it decided to come up about 100 yards into the run. Leg started cramping abour 3/4 mile into the run so started walking. Grabbed a few cups of water at the first station, filling my hat with ice which helped a little but I was dry again quickly. Spent a few minutes at the second water stop seeing if my buddy was catching up but nowhere in sight so continued on. Saw cops still directing traffic on the bike course and since I was a little worried about my friend I stopped to ask how many were still out there...only one he says and they just passed the 3/4 mark. Waited a couple minutes and still no sight of him so continued on planning to check with his wife at the finish. She was parked about 50 feet short of the finish line and said he had made it back and was running. Decided to wait for him before crossing the line so we could do it together. After about 7 or 8 minutes I see him trotting past the stadium so I waited and we crossed side by side...I think his wife got a good action shot of us posing on the line

Normally I wouldn't be stopping everywhere to wait for someone

cramps, humidity/heat, drinking, new bike


It was a fun race put on by the parks department. The volunteers were wonderful and I made it a point to thank every one I saw. The swim was challenging due to the layout but they did well with what they have to work with.