Knew from my first tri that I was above average in the swim to made sure to get up front. Wasn't a problem - everyone seemed to be hanging back, perhaps because the footing was better as it was shallower back there.

Went at a decent pace, but with the water so murky I couldn't sense anything about who was around me. It seemed like people came out of nowhere even in the middle of the swim.

Sighting seemed OK because every time I would look up a buoy would be coming up close to me on my right, but it seemed like I had to veer left after the turn to get to the finish.

I still get the adrenaline kick and stroke harder instead of correctly - this probably slows me down and definitely raises my heart rate too much. Need to break out quickly to avoid the scrum but settle down.

This was my first time riding more than a few miles wet with my new clipless shoes so I took a bit longer than normal to dry off and put them on. The short swim taking so much out of me surprised me and I wasn't focused.

Eventually I will have the shoes clipped to the pedals and have more T1 practice.

The bike is my weakness due to lack of experience relative to swim/run. My first tri I had a hybrid bike and standard pedals, so this was a great improvement (first one was 15 mph).

The pace felt comfortable enough. I held back a little bit anticipating the run but I was working pretty hard. My cadence seemed slower than everyone else so I guess I was pushing in a higher gear? It was so flat that I only changed gears at the end to loosen up my legs a little bit.

I got caught up in actually being in a pack of people (first one I was just continuously passed) so I probably didn't take in enough fluids.

Take in more fluids, will get more comfotable on the bike with more time in the saddle.

New bike so not as comfortable jumping off. What slowed me down a lot was that in my first tri (2 mi run) I had blisters from running without socks so I put on socks this time and it slowed me down quite a bit. Also took a drink that I probably should have taken either on the bike or on the run course while I'm moving.

Better fluid intake on the bike and either shoes that I am comfortable in without socks and/or practice T2 putting socks on.

Felt pretty slow and was tired from the beginning but went at a good pace (for me). My sweet spot is the 8-8.5 min/mile range so to be able to hold this for 3.5 miles was good for me.

Continue to train and get faster. Have more fluids before the run, especially in this kind of heat.

Only training for a few months, will get faster.


Great race and well organized. Will do it again next year and looking forward to their next race in September!