Second step into the water the toes on my right foot cramped. Spent the rest of the swim trying to work them out. The course conditions were very good. The run up from the water is included in the swim time (and it is a run up the hill)

Spend more time practicing in the wetsuit - only second ever swim in the wetsuit.

Had my steps planned out and executed them exactly as I planned. Everything (like socks, shoes, race belt) was laid out in an order so that I wouldn't miss anything. Surprised at how long it took in hindsight.

Skip the Heart rate monitor - after the race realized that it didn't really help me. Might not put on socks next time as it seem to take a while to get them on my feet. Also might trim the legs on the wetsuit a touch to make it easier to get it off.

Good ride, passed a number of people heading out until I ended up swapping position back and forth with a couple of people. Staring down a my Garmin and my HRM told me that I was running way too high of a heart rate, but I was still feeling fairly good.

Not a lot, other than not dropping my water bottle.

Really surprised that this took so long. Rack the bike, Garmin from the bike to my wrist, cycling shoes off and running shoes on.

The run had more hills in it than I expected. My goal had been not to walk, but I ended up having to as I was getting some side cramps. After the 1.25km turn around, I only ended up walinkg once on the way back to the finish.

Try not to walk.

I had plans for stretching but it didn't really happen.


A couple of factors
- still trying to lose weight - currently sitting at 240lbs
- My aerobic base building is still going on. Really have only been running and swimming actively for 6 months.


Coming into the race, my hope was to finish in about 1 hour. In hindsight, I forgot about time for transition in that time, so 1:05 is basically what I was expecting. My swim time was a little longer that I was hoping for, but my bike and run times were in line with what I have been seeing in my training.

For my first event, I was impressed with the organization. Always had a good idea of what the next step was ans where to be at any moment. Enjoyed the overall event immensely.