The onshore breeze kicked up just before race start, and the water was anything but calm. Waded in over waist deep then started swimming. Things went badly in short order. This was a real disaster once I got about 100 yards in. Was doing OK breathing on the top of the swells before the drop into the troughs. Then I got a mouthful of water on a breath and gaged badly. Had to grab a kayak to get my breath back. Spent a couple minutes there as I ppit/hacked out the seawater then started on my way around the bouy.

When I could actually swim, things were smooth and I moved quickly and to where I needed to go. Swim back in was easier as the waves were essentially throwing you toward the beach. Out of the water, and ran the 100 yards or so across the beach and up a ramp to transition. Glad that was over. Oy....
Once around the

Not drink 1/2 gallon of seawater, pray for calmer seas, consider duathlons

This went very well, and I went fast enough that I was thinking I forgot to do something, but nope, just fast. Made top 15% of T1 times in the race, so I'll take it

Nothing

Bike felt great, and I enjoyed the he11 out of it. Started out a bit too fast, and was riding at 22+ mph the first few miles. No real hills, and I was settled in to a solid cadence the whole time. Passed lots of folks, and was passed by one or two, but thats about it.

After the turn around things became a bit tougher as riders were fighting headwinds the whole way, particularly the final 1/3 of the race. My speed dropped 3-4 mph with same effort.

Thought I may have averaged 20+ on this ride, but just missed it. Love riding my new bike, so it was all good :).

Not much. Just keep working on bike fitness, and enjoying the time I spend riding.

Slow getting socks & shoes on. Otherwise OK.

Need to figure out a better way for getting socks/shoes on.

Wasn't sure how this was going to go, so I just found a comfortable pace, and kept it up. No issues, and felt like I could have run all day at that pace. I'm not a fast runner, and quite frankly, need to run more, and plan to this off season. This year was a struggle due to missing so much w/ an injury, but this run was a positive experience for me.

Run more, work on mental aspects of running

Crossed finish line, gave back chip, then went & had some food at the finishers tent. Pack up and was home in about 15 minutes after I crossed the finish line.


Many thoughts about this race/season. For the race, the swim was a trainwreck. The big waves were something I'd not had much experiece with during my OWS swims. Bike was a big improvement this year, and the run has come back somewhat, but needs work.

This was my season ending tri, so I'm thinking about offseason work. Run, run, and some additional run is highly likely, along with some good bike workout, and for now just maintenance on the swim.

One other thing I want to work on is the mental side of it. I need to figure out how to push myself more.


Good local race. Did this last year, and I think this year was better run, and the run course layout of finishing on the beach was great. I'll likely do this again next year.