The pool was very crowded!
At times it was 4 abreat, 2 going one direction 2 going the other. I was touching someone's feet the entire time, but I was not confident enough to pass, except on the last length. It got so backed up at one point I had to stop and stand up...I let a guy pass me and then I rode his feet the rest of the way. I am sure I could have swam faster, maybe 7:30, but taking it easy/slowly was probably best for me- I did not freak out on the swim at all (which was my major fear leading up to this event).

Be more aggressive and PASS!

A long run into T1, must have been 1 minute from the pool to the TA. Very chilly coming out of the pool into the cold air.

I don't know, run and put my shoes on faster?

A pretty good ride. I went out a little too fast and had a hard time getting a good rhythm because I was so cold at the start. The only hill was LONG. Without a watch or a computer, I never knew how long it was or when it would end... at every corner I kept thinking "oh good the hill is ending," yet it kept going.
Luckily I kept passing and being passed by a woman who was making a solid steady pace, she definately kept me going.

DRINK MORE!
Try not to go out so hard. Get my rhythm earlier.
Try to maintain better form and not spaz out so much.

T2 was good except... I FORGOT MY RACE NUMBER!
Also, right as I exited T2 a w volunteer handed me a cup, which I thought was water, but was really gatorade. I almost spit it back onto her I was so surprised...

DO NOT FORGET RACE NUMBER!
Drink some water during T2

The run would have been great except, as I mentioned, I forgot my race number. So, at almost 1 mile I realized it and PANICKED!
Fearing that I would be disqualified, I stopped and asked a volunteer. She had no idea what I should do, so after about 15 seconds I began to run back to T2. After about 30 seconds I realized that I was crazy, and DQ or no DQ, I could not run all the way back.
So I turned around again and began to run the right way again (thus passing a couple of people 3 times, they must have thought I wsa crazy). I wasted almost 1.5 minutes...I definately learned something form that. Additionally, because I thought I was going to be D/Q'd I did not give it my full, 100% effort for a while. But after about a mile, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and started to run my normal pace. The rest of the run was great. Perfect running weather. I sprinted the final 200 with some teenager who was smoking fast.

1.DO NOT FORGET MY RACE NUMBER!
2. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE PRE-RACE BRIEFING SO I KNOW THE RULES AND PENALTIES (I would not have been D/Q'd, just a 2 min penalty if I was seen by the race official, which I was not)
3. KEEP A POSITIVE ATTTITUDE, EVEN IN THE FACE OF UNPLANNED EVENTS (Never my strong suit)

Walk around with my kids and eat bananas/bagel drink water


Swim was so crowded, the whole race belt fiasco and my general lack of training


A great first race. As far as I know, well organized, especially for first timers, of which there were a lot. The volunteers were very encouraging. My wife and I will definately be back next year to better our times.