I had done 4 open water swims before so I was pretty comfortable going in. I tried drafting three different people. The first guy was too fast and I quickly lost sight. The second guy was too slow so I swam around him. The third guy swam at a good pace but kept doing a butterfly kick every 25' or so. I later realized he was probably sighting but either way I swam the rest on my own.Goggles fogged up pretty bad by the last turn and when I wanted to speed up (and actually had the energy to do so) I didn't because I wasn't sure if I was going the right way. I just kept a guy on either side of me and swam as straight as I could.

Overall, I was pretty happy with the swim. I probably could have swam harder but I still had a long way to go before this race was over.

There was a pretty long run in the wetsuit and I had a hard time balancing on one foot trying to get my socks/shoes on. Almost felt like I was dizzy. I had a lot of dirt and grass in my shoes but didn't bother me any. I had my wetsuit down still on the dock but left my goggles/cap on until I got to the transition area. Oh well.

Practiced swim, short run, then transition. I only practiced the transition basically on the dock as soon as I got out of the water.

I was the farthest rack from the bike exit so had long jog with cleats. I had decided to put the shoes on before mounting the bike but leave them on the bike and run in socks back. That part worked out well. The bike segment was a little harder than I thought because of how I trained I guess. I try to do 2 group rides a week which includes lots and lots of drafting. Of course we can't do that here. At least once a week, I try to ride on my own. I usually set a pace and stick to it the whole way. In the race, you almost have to sprint past people so the drafting nazi's don't penalize you and this wore me out quickly. Overall, I was a little disappointed as I was expecting a 45min time.

Practice short sprints and stop drafting so much.

I road with my feet on the shoes even though I only practiced it a few times before. I didn't fall and jumped off in time so that was good. I made a quick shoe change but took my sunglasses off after my helmet. I don't know why. Grabbed my race number and headed out.

leave my sunglasses on. Maybe take a water bottle with me.

This was the segment I dreaded. I'm not a strong runner and often have knee pain and nausea whenever I do run. I took off strong but had to walk after I had only gone a mile. I actually walked 3 times and for way too long each time. I was happy with the time but upset I had to walk so much. It was hot but it had been overcast for the swim and bike so it wasn't too overwhelming.

Slow down and pace yourself. Since I walked alot and still had a good time (for me) I can only guess I was running way too fast. Maybe coming right off the bike, a 6mph run seems slow as hell? I do need to run farther after I bike as almost all my bricks are only 1mile (which happened to be where I burnt out). Maybe bike 5-10 and then run 5 instead of bike 20 and run 1 all the time.

Just walked around a little and drank too much water.


I have gone from the couch to a triathlon in 6 weeks. For that little time, I am ecstatic at my performance and can't wait to see what I can do in another 6 weeks!


Had a great first triathlon experience and will definitely be doing this next year (the HIM)