I know I am a hopeless swimmer as I only kick for balance and this became horrifyingly evident even after about 30 meters when I first sighted. There was a huge pack already about 4-5 metres in front of me. Luckily there were 3 of us at the back. I was only beaten into second last by about half a second and then only because I could feel him coming and moved over for him with about 3 metres to go. I may not be so nice next time.

Wasn't fully prepared for the dizzyness getting out of the water.

Train more. Lots more. And harder. Using a kick.

No times for the transitions

The dizzyness had all but gone by the time I reached my bike.
Sunnies on. Top on. Helmet on. Shoes on and off I went.

Nothing really.

A 3 lap course with one short out of the saddle hill and one longer but in the saddle hill.

Everything went great, even passing a few people from other groups , until about 3/4 into lap 2 when I swerved out of the way of another rider and my rear wheel went over a pothole giving me a slow puncture. It went half flat almost immediately then went slowly down for the rest of the race. Still rideable but had to slow down a bit on the straights and a lot on the corners. It felt like I was riding on sand and I was scared I was going to come off on the corners. The worst thing though was knowing that stopping meant a definite DFL. I had a choice to make. Change now as I might have to do it anyway, or take a chance on it lasting but costing me time. I went for option 2 and made it but it must have been a close run thing as it was totally flat when I picked up the bike after the race.

Avoid potholes. Train more and harder.

Rack bike. Helmet off. Bike shoes off. Run shoes on. Right shoe off. Stone out. Right shoe on. Start chatting to clyde entering transition. Think WTF am I doing and then off on the run.

Clean feet properly.
Not chat to anyone.

I was starting to feel it by the start of the run. Legs felt heavy but in the first 100 metres there were about 4 kids with their hands out so I high fived them all and got a huge cheer from them. It lifted my spirits and made my day.

The run course was a flat 2 lap affair. Nothing much to report really. It was hard but I plodded on, walked for a few seconds through the drinks stations and finished the run stronger than I started it.

Train more. Train harder.

Drank Gatorade, ate fruit and walked about a bit.


My ability.


This was my first race so UI have nothing to compare it with but I have no complaints.

Overall though I had a blast and can't wait to do another.