Sun was coming up right over first turn buoy. I could see the buoy pretty clearly, but my goggles kept fogging up while waiting for the start. Kept dunking em, spitting in em, trying everything, but they weren't going to stay clear for long, so I picked out something on land to sight off of and pretty soon we were off. As usual, I got dropped right away. First turn buoy came up really quickly and I tried not to push too hard. Got a good foot massage for most of the middle third of the swim. Then got whacked in the head about three times in a row as someone worked his way past me. I tried to follow in behind him, but I couldn't stay on his feet. Was really ready to get out of the water before the last turn buoy and was glad to touch the ramp. A friend was there at the swim exit and he told me I was in 9th. That made me feel better and I hurried into transition. Was surprised to see a 6:40-something when I hit the T1 timing mat.

Breathe better, swim faster, work harder.

Estimated time. I got in and out. A few issues, but nothing too bad. Couldn't find the Bike Out right away and a Marshall had to point me in the right direction. Sunglasses were askew and I didn't do the best job at the mount, but I was soon on my way.

Pay attention to the path of travel to the Bike Out.

Garmin time. Bike felt okay. Made a conscious effort to take it easy on the first stretch out to the main road. Got into shoes and got going, but probably didn't push hard enough on the first loop. I didn't know what the wind was going to be like on the back side of the island. Heart rate was a little low. Course was crowded, but there weren't very many people to chase. I mostly just passed people from earlier waves. The wind was mild and the pace was fast around the island. I slowed a bit when back on Sea World Dr. I saw Monica on the run and yelled something. I thought I caught 3 people from my AG. No one passed me. I think I was about a minute faster than last year when I did the duathlon.

Push harder from the start. Keep heart rate up.

This went well. Smooth dismount, clean rack. Put on visor and shoes (no socks). Grabbed race belt and dug my bottle out of the side pocket of my transition bag since I was really thirsty. One guy headed out of transition before me.

Pay attention to hydration so I don't have to run out with a bottle for a sprint run.

Felt sluggish at first and struggled to get my race belt on while carrying a bottle. Got that squared away and focused on picking off people. I passed two guys in the first half mile and then 3 in a row at about the 1-mile mark. With the 3 on the bike and 5 or so on the run, I thought that might be about all that was in front of me and I just tried to focus on not getting caught. Saw Monica and Heather at the end of loop 1 and felt really good on the second loop. Tried to push as hard as I could. Never got passed.

Maybe wear a Garmin. I just used my stopwatch and lapped at each mile so I didn't know how fast I was running. Not sure if it would have mattered, but after the first loop, I didn't really have anything to gauge how fast I should be running. Kind of the same as the bike. You feel fast passing people from the earlier waves, but there's no feedback to know whether or not you're making up ground on your competitors.

Walked through the chute and looked for Monica. Caught up with Clayton Treska and met one of the founders of Ironman, Dan Powell. Other friends found us and we took some pictures and Monica found me soon enough. We went to go clean up out transition area and checked results. I was actually surprised to see that someone in my AG finished 2 minutes ahead of me. CEO of XTERRA Wetsuits. Go figure.


Sub-par swim fitness / ability. Boston Marathon two weeks prior. Although last year, I rode 100 miles the day before the race and I didn't feel very good on the bike or second loop of the run. The day before the race this year, I just did a few easy loops on the bike and one easy loop of the run.


This is a good early season sprint - especially for beginners. There's also a duathlon and super sprint distance for those looking to ease into things or to compete without the swim. I did the duathlon last year and just felt that it wasn't a very competitive event. I need to work on my swim, so this was a good exercise for me. Also fun to race with Monica. First race for team Hi-Tech Bikes, too - glad to be able to podium for the team.