The best I can say is that I swam straight through non-stop. I managed to pass 5-6 people, but also had about the same amount pass me. I was able to do a slow "endurance" pace, but didn't have the strength to do what I'm able to regularly in training. I really feel that the swim is still my weakness. I'll keep working on it through the winter.

I'm not exactly sure what the overall time was.

Train harder! I also need to make sure I'm swimming efficiently. My strokes seemed to be a bit wild. I have a hard time with my form when I'm tired.

I'm thinking about taking a tri swimming class to see if I can refine my stroke.

I was a little upset because the guy in front of me rode quickly into transition even though they told him to dismount. He then got stuck trying to turn in and bottled me up for a bit.

The transition went pretty quickly. They had us walk across the street and through the entrance & locker room to the pool, so the transition took a little bit of time.

Unbuckle helmet while running with the bike.

I passed a LOT of people on the first lap, then managed to pass a couple more on lap 2. I seemed to do particularly well compared to others on the flats and around the turns. I managed to pass a couple of people on one windy downhill section and still keep good control.

I felt out the loop on the first run and pushed even harder the second. The hill was a bit slower on lap #2, but everything else was a bit faster.

Considering that I really haven't been cycling long and don't have a real TT bike, I feel pretty good about this. I wasn't passed by a single rider.

I could have ridden the course earlier to get the feel of it.

I'm not sure how long transition took, but I'd guess about 30 seconds. I ran in, slipped my shoes off (speedlaces helped). I had worn the gloves on the run and wasn't changing clothing at all. I quickly put my shoes and helmet on. I managed to clip into the new SpeedPlay peddles pretty quickly.

This transition went very smoothly. Perhaps some day I'll learn to put the shoes on the bike in advance.

At the starting line, I thought I heard them announce that only the 5k runners would be starting. I checked with the director to make sure and he confirmed. He must have misunderstood me, because I was standing at the back of the group waiting for my turn when everyone ran off. By the time I managed to work my way through the crowd, I was about 1/4 mile behind the start of the pack. I made up a lot of ground, but was disappointed. I feel I lost a good 20-30 seconds at least.

I had a good first 1/2. I knew the first part of the course was the faster part, so I pushed hard early. I finished the first couple of miles at about a 6:40 pace, then tried not to wear myself out too much on the hill. I ran a moderate pace for the last 1/2 mile to make sure I wouldn't have to recover in transition. Overall, it was a good run. It was consistent with my recent training runs and actually beat my PR 5k race time by about 10 seconds. Not bad, considering the 5k wasn't followed by bike and swim.

I feel good about the run other than the start. I passed a lot of people, but wasn't passed by a single person overall.

Head to the beginning of the starting line and make sure that I know exactly what's going on.

Sat by the pool, then walked around the deck waiting for the suit to dry a bit before heading out into the cold. Ate some fruit and had gatorade and water.


Swimming was the biggest barrier. Otherwise, I just need to train harder to get faster.


The race was well organized for a small pool event. The course was well marked, and there were plenty of people there to help. I'd do it again next year. It's a short race, but a good end of season one that you can do without taking too seriously.