Good warm up and was able to acclimate. However, I was in the newbie wave which began about 28 minutes after the first wave. By the time my wave got in the water for the start I need to get used to the water again. Good start with the expected crowd to deal with. Kept calm and had an uneventful first half. However, once I began with a breaststroke break just after half I kept taking them. I managed to swim it in a little choppy (too many breaks) but at least it was done.

Swim more! I started training for this sprint 2.5 months ago with 2-3 days of lap swimming per week - typically double the distance of the race swim. I took 1 OWS clinic which helped greatly - in colder water, rain and cooler air temps. Helped me get used to my new wetsuit as well.
I'm not going to feel too bad about my time. Before training it had been about 20 years since I actually swam a lap! BT, TI and You Tube helped me get through. Now I'm thinking about a swim coach and adding some structured training/drills etc.

I was a little too disoriented coming out of the swim. My intent was to take the top half down during the jog into T1 but somehow only managed to loosen the collar. I can't say my actions were quick but I did everything I could to not waste time. No problems with the wetsuit, helmet, eyeglasses, socks, bike shoes in that order.

I can't think of anything. This is the first time I've ever gone from a complete swim to the bike - yeah didn't practice that one. I didn't count on wet feet to pull shoes over!, but I did manage to set up the socks 'condom style' which made things easy.

They say you should do your first tri with what you have. Well it was between a 14 year old mountain bike and a 30 year old 10 speed. I opted for the 10 speed with $400 of upgrades. I passed and got passed. Overall I think it was a pretty decent ride considering the bike is about 30 lbs.

Train more! Just 99 miles of training in the last 2 months. I think I have it in me to eventually post a decent split. A new bike would definitely help, and maybe that would make me want to spend more time on the bike. I'm sure once I get on a modern bike I'll say I should have gotten one sooner. I did enjoy this leg (my favorite of the day) and think I could fall in love with the bike.

About as good as it gets I guess. I didn't like the speedlaces I bought and went with laces. Don't regret that at all.

Not much, I guess just do things faster and try different lace options.

This is supposed to be my strength but obviously still getting used to running off the bike. Took about 1.5 miles to get comfortable in my usual stride. I'm not fast but have been running consistently for 4 years (7 marathons and a bunch of races under that). This was the most leisurely 5K I've ever done :)

More bricks! - did 2 with 4, 5 mile runs after. I can go forever on the run but have trouble getting into the 5K mode afte the other 2 legs. Eventually if/when I do longer distance tri's I think my run will actually be better overall.

Pizza with my kids - I was just happy to finish and couldn't stop smiling afterwards.


Short training period for the swim and bike. 30 year old/30 lb bike.


Must give a shout out to Max Performance. They put on a great event. They also sponsored the OWS clinic which helped immensely. They are terrific in helping newbies and most likely the growth of the entire sport.

My first tri - I am totally stoked!