Little cold but not bad...they had screwed up my seed time but result the issue. Theswim was tight at points but the nice thing is the person in front of me was very fast and the person behind was not so every time I would look up I had a clear lane infront of me. I kept to the front crwal but switch only twice to breat stroke.

Spend more time in the pool making my stroke more efficient. Swim with a swim cap and learn to flip turn

I felt fast and found my bike quickly. I wiped of my feet sta down to put on my socks and i started putting on my running shoes instead of my bike shoes then had to stop to fasten my helmet so I didn't DQ. My bike gloves were inside out. I didn't practice run in these shoes...very hard. I lost my GU packet that was taped to my bike.

Practice more. Try doing the bike without socks on. Remember to fasten my helmet. Use electirc tape instead of your adhesive race numebr to secure Gu packs. Don't use gloves.

The people were very nice and supportive on the race route. There was a lot of potholes and loose gravel on the road. For the 1st lap I stayed in the large gear the whole time and pounded through the course. I passed several people. On the 2nd loop, I was worried that I was pumping to hard and moved down to the small chain ring. I took a more conservative approach. There was one small hill where I past alot of people but I did struggle a bit. I had a bit of a hard time getting out of the saddle. I stayed in the aerobars about 50% of the time and felt good. I never got past the whole race course and I past several people with higher swim seed times. I drank enough water and gatorade proportionatly.

Oh yeah, I spend the first mile on the bike trying to put on my race gloves so I wasn't concentrating as hard on the race. On top of everything, I lost my bar caps/plugs off my aero bars.

I would train more in the aero bar position.
I would train more on open routes not on a trainer.
I would layoff the breaks on turns and when approaching slower athletes...congestion
I would have trusted my gut and pound out the course and have faith in my leg strength.
Train more on hill so I can get used to getting out of the saddle.

I threw it in granny gear and spun out for the last few feet to get my legs warmed up. I also unfastened the velcro on my shoes and slipped my rt. foot out and the left foot out as I came in transition. I scraped one shoe up on the pavement...oh well. I racked my weirdly and then corrected it. Grabbed my GU. The transition went smoothly with the exception of my racing gloves. I left them on.

Take off my racing gloves.

Practice getting out of my shoes and running to my transition.

don't fixs my racking...reracking took about 20 seconds

I still had the weird problem with my left calf threatening to cramp...that went away after a half mile. I felt slow at 1st and then picked up some steam. I nailed the Gu pack too early and then realized the water station was a mile ahead. I need to plan that better. The run back I past quite a few people. I felt strong and started running at full tilt. As we came to the last 1/4 mile I got pasted by a guy drafting me the last 2 miles. He raced ahead and as we made the turn I through my weight foward and passed him and 2 other into the finish line. Great stuff

Take GU with water..maybe even take water with me on the run...depending on the heat.

Keep up the running....I am getting faster and more efficient

really stride out when i first start to loosen up.

take the 2 sec to drink at the water station.

I ate a banana and dranks lots of water.


Being to conservative on the bike and the little hiccups in my transition.

My inability to swim well also took a chunk of time.


Only complaint: They had the food tent right next to the finish line and they had fry chicken...the smell made me ill.

The race director and her team of volunteers were awesome. I suggest this race to anyone who lives in the DC metro area. The people are friendly and very accomadating. Plus the added support of the community help lift my spirits even more. It run very well and they have good sponsorship backing. Great swap too. Perfect race for a newbie and the more seasoned. I will be doing it next year...so I'll see you there