I'm so much slower in open water then in the pool, even with a wetsuit on. I felt like I did really good on siting and as best I could at drafting. I went out a little fast and as a result battled a side stitch for the entire swim. After about 500M I was able to calm down a bit and start breathing every third stroke as well as breath bilaterally. This swim was decent but if I were a better swimmer I would be so much more comfortable.

Try to just get into a good comfortable rhythm from the start instead of going out really fast and suffering through the rest of the swim.

I had a lot of trouble getting my wetsuit off. I finally just yanked it below my waste, stepped on it and yanked my arms out.

A little more body glide and a smarter approach to taking the wetsuit off.

The first loop was pretty hard. My HR was high from the swim and like always I went out fast. It took a good 8 minutes or so for me to settle into a rhythm that was comfortable. Once I settled down I was able to bring my pace back up and finish strong.

Not go out so fast (I see a pattern developing here). Much better to go out a little easy to let the HR settle and then kick up the pace.

Walked around and BS'ed with a few friends


Muscling my way through the swim without swimming efficiently and having a really high HR starting the run.


Even though this was a small race and they didn't give out awards for AG finishes it still feels good to have placed in my AG. I think I could have done a lot better if I had a better run but this was a good opportunity for me to swim in Temp Town Lake with a wetsuit prior to this weekend's HIM. That was my only motivation for this event so overall I'd say it was a great success.