The swim is bar far my weakest discipline. I've been busting my arse in the pool and as a result I had a great swim. Felt comfortable and in control the whole time, unlike this pool swim 2 years ago where I was gasping for air, swallowing water, and hoping not to drown. Time was actually 7:30, but you gotta climb out of the pool and run a bit over a timing mat.

I need to be more confident with my swim, especially since I've been training a lot. I came out of the water feeling super fresh and I really only pushed hard the last 100m.

I also did a crummy job of flip turning and pushing underwater diagonally into the next lane. Lost a lot of seconds at the turn around.

11th OA. I lost seconds trying to buckle my race belt clip. I also lost a SOLID 20 seconds trying to get my race top on. I wanted to represent my tri team "Sunrise Tri" so I put my tri top on and even though I practiced putting it on wet after showering the other night - and it went fine - on Race day it was tougher.

Ride shirtless like the guy who finished one place ahead of me!

Shoes were on the pedals and I took a little long trying to get my feet in. One guy passed me on the bike. A few times I tried to push a harder gear but I felt some fatigue in my thighs from a lot of cycling this month and played it a little conservative. And although my legs are a little fatigued, they are fatigued from doing a TON of biking which has ultimately made me faster, so it's an ironic double-edged sword. Came out of my shoes and did a perfect flying dismount.

Practice slipping feet into shoes on the fly beforehand. Haven't done it in six months!

I came FLYING into transition full speed and I crashed into the Race Director! I yelled move and he kind of stuttered and took one step in each direction. He apologized and grabbed my bike and said that it was his fault and as a result he racked my bike for me. Awesome!!

2nd fastest Transition Overall. NOTHING. I dumped my helmet put my shoes on and was off running. Perfect transition.

I had a side stitch to start. I felt slow the first mile and was passed by one guy really early on. For the second mile I felt much better and I pushed it full throttle and was grunting and huffing & puffing. An 18-yr-old passed me and I did my best to stay with him, but I just couldn't. The last mile I left EVERYTHING on the course.

Throuhgout the run I continually pushed to the point where I was about to vomit. So really I just physically could not push any more. Well, I probably could've pushed the first half mile a little more. ;)

Talked with my friend Mike and the 1st place winner.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

What I would like to point out and I think a lot of people can learn from my results are: Look at where I finished in every event. My Swim was 30th OA, T1 11th OA, Run 12th OA. NONE of my Swim or Run times were in the Top ten, yet I finished 6th OA. Why? Because I've learned (finally!) to train all three disciplines equally. It's better to be Good at all three, then really good at 1, okay at another, and not good (due to little training usually) at a third. Also, Transitions make a big difference. And not only in Sprints were time is critical, but in Olympic races and HIM's I have placed higher than people who have beat me in all three disciplines, but because I haul arse in transition, I've saved seconds (many times minutes!) and beaten people who actually SBR'd faster than me. Transition is the Fourth Discipline! If you want to Recover a little, then go easy on the bike or go easy the first minute of the Run -- cause you'll still be moving forward as opposed to just standing and not moving in transition. :)


I'm slow-twitch by design; not fast-twitch. I also do not train High Intensity. I lost about 45 seconds today between two transition goofs and I could have pushed a little more on the Swim. In spite of all these minor criticisms I am very, very thrilled. Sprints are a funny beast because every second is magnified. I red-lined for 95% of this Race and maybe one day I'll push it a little further, but right now my focus in Ironman.


This was my first triathlon. I met a lot of people at this race 2 years ago that I am still friends with today. I think it's great for beginners because the distances are short and you don't have to worry about all the logistics and anxieties that accompany an OWS. I also think this race is good for more seasoned Triathletes as it allows you to practice your transitions in a Race environment very early in the season, and it teaches you very early in the season how to suffer, and it helps you blow out the Winter cobwebs and get ready for the coming season!