The people around me did a good job with their times which was different than alot of people who started between 40-100. Other than the woman who passed me, a completely clean pool swim. My start time was 8:37. One good thing about being a good swimmer is that you get to start these races earlier than most. Some people were starting around 10am I think. Ick. The only thing that happened, and it seems to always happen in the pool swims is that I get short of breath around 150 yards. I guess I go out too fast even though I try very hard just to be smooth. I don't get it... I practice starting right out as well and don't have the same problems. Must be the excitement of the race or something.

Best swim start of any tri though... each racer chooses an "angel" to call out in memory of and the announcer says their name as each swimmer begins. Very cool. Raced for Dad.

Just figure out the reason for the fatigue (and try not to hit my head on the lane lines when switching lanes... lol). Maybe not stay inside quite so long beforehand.

I suck at T1s. If I'm ever going to be competitive in sprints, I'm going to have to do things differently.

Outsource T1.

Lots of volunteers who were always cheering (they were awesome!). Good ratio of me passing to being passed. Generally felt much stronger than previous sprint bike legs... that was a good sign. And it was a tough course, especially the hills back to town.

Post results note: 3rd fastest time in the field was 41.41, so much closer to the top than usual. I'll take it!

Nothing. Good bike segment. We'll see where the time puts me, but it felt good, especially given the conditions.

Good T2. Just had to rack the bike and go. Took a quick swig of water, but otherwise solid.

Nothing. Good. Hopefully in the top half of folks on this one.

Took quite awhile to get my running legs going, but I just kept plugging away. Maybe because the course was slightly uphill along the river? Maybe b/c of the long run yesterday? Maybe the end of bike followed by steep downhill run was a nasty 1-2 punch. Probably all 3. Once I hit the turnaround I felt like I was getting my stride again. Of course, there was the big hill waiting at the end. Fortunately a 47 year old (Dan was his name I found out later) passed me and I made some smartaleck comment about the young guy... lol. Anyway, I caught back up with him at the water station and we ran the hill together. I do have to mention there was a volunteer who ran up the whole hill with me cheering me on. She was great and I really appreciated it. When Dan stopped running on the hill, we both egged him on to run again and he did. Oh, also saw a friend from the Reynosa mission on the run who was a race volunteer... gave her a big hug. Great to see a familiar face!

Post results note: After seeing that the fastest split was 19.46, I felt better about my time. Clearly I wasn't the only one struggling.

Maybe push a little harder once I got down to the river. I thought it was flat, but I don't think it was. Probably won't do a long run the day before next year :-)

Just walked around and had some drinks, etc. Checked my time on the board... 1.27 something. Was the #4 MC at that point, so I could head on home early (which was a blessing).


Unfamiliarity with the course. A bit of concern about the conditions (wet and humid). Probably shouldn't have run 8 miles the day before, but I think that was a good long-term decision. It isn't about the placing with me anyway.


GREAT volunteers! Challenging course. It wouldn't be my first choice for a first-time tri from a course perspective, but the volunteers and overall feel made it a really wonderful race. Thanks to all for a special morning. We'll work on the weather for next year!

Oh, I also made a concerted effort to cheer on everyone on the bike and run (b/c it was out and back). I remembered reading in someone's posts on here when we were discussing women only tris, that this person thought people weren't very supportive of each other in the mixed ones vs. the women's only. Anyway, I had a good time doing that - hopefully no one thought it was weird! And, I have to say, about 20% of the guys said something back and about 70% of the women. So, I can definitely see how a women's only race would be a more supportive atmosphere.

Final note post results: This was more of a breakthrough race for me than I first realized. Only 20 mins out of 3rd place and 69 out of 176 in male overall (39th percentile) vs. last year's best race of 30 mins out of 3rd place and 221 out of 360 (61st percentile). The biggest difference today was probably the bike. I was 59th in the bike and a decent pace on a course with some tough hills. Kind of excited about trying clipless now :-)