Had a hard time spotting the first buoy at all once I was in the water. Signed up for the novice wave because they said we'd be in the last wave and I didn't want to get swum over multiple times. Instead they started the novices with the elites and teams in the first wave, so I could tell where I was along the course by the color of the swim caps passing me. The course was way longer than 1500m, but my time was still slow. I sped up in the last 500 because it was TAKING SO LONG, but still. Nice warm water anyway.

In the last 500 I started throwing in power 10s and power 20s to get done faster, and I think I could do that the whole swim. With a little more effort I could actually be competitive on the swim. Up until now I've had more of a get-through-it attitude, but I'm strong enough I could go harder. Swimming without a wetsuit actually felt easy and natural, which was a relief.

No problems in T1 - pretty easy with no wetsuit wrangling.

Pretty good bike. I was racing a guy with a Nebraska triathlon suit most of the way. He'd get ahead of me on the flats and I'd fly by him on the hills. I'm a good climber. The competition made me go faster. Came 3rd in my AG, but I have much more potential on the bike. Need to get out more with the roadies.

No problems in T2.

Nice course, very well attended with water stops every mile. Well marked. I passed 4 people and only 3 of them were walking. At least it was under an hour - running an hour+ 10k would be a matter of serious embarrassment for me. Not my all time fastest 10k by any means but I was reasonably happy with it as the last leg of my first Oly. My socks were so wet that I got several blisters on my feet that smarted the whole way. OUCH.

Drank water. Rinsed off. Jumped in the lake. Changed clothes. Had a beer.


Swim: sighting problems, hesitating to go all out in the first leg
Bike: pretty good bike leg - starting to approach the point where equipment, not the engine, really is my biggest limiter
Run: heat was getting to me on the run, and I need to train more specifically for speed over distance. 10k is the longest distance I run and it would improve with some more focused practice.


There seemed to be a little disconnect between the seriousness of the racers and the seriousness of the organization. Very small race compared to most I've been doing around Iowa, and they still seem to be working out the kinks a few years in. Pre-race briefing was inaudible, swim course was very messed up, transition was not secured at all, no porta potties (just long lines for the beach latrines), no massage, rather scarce food afterward, no course map available beforehand that I could find.

On the other hand, nice pasta dinner the night before, nice race bag, great volunteers, great race venue, nice level of competition. It was a very enjoyable race and I'd do it again, I just hope they improve a few things that aren't quite right yet.