My first open-water race. My primary goal was to finish, and I did. I started the race with Colleen, who has done tris for the past three years. It was great having someone there to get in the water with. The rest of the swim wasn't good at all. I stopped every few minutes, never got into any kind of rythm or anything. I was so nervous about getting swum over that I moved too far to the outside where the water was so murky and shallow that I was pretty much swimming in mud. At times it felt like I would never finish, but then I looked up and realized that I was rounding the last buoy....That felt good :)

I would relax a bit more and not worry so much about getting swum over. I would also try to find a rythm, as opposed to giving into to "simply finishing". I did enjoy the swim. The water felt great, despite the smell and all else.

I'd rate this swim as technically "bad" but I enjoyed it so "good" overall.

I came out of the water thinking I'd enjoy the rest of the race, so I walked all the way to through this. Took my time. Let my mom take pics. Talked with those around me. I just relaxed. Not going for speed here.

Nothing. This was my first race and I just wanted to finish and enjoy.

This was an enjoyable ride. I started out with some mechanical problems, my pedals were not working well (hard to describe, so I won't). Anyway, I tried to figure out what the problem was but gave up after a minute or so (I was being timed, afterall). About 5 miles in I thought I got a flat, so I stopped again to check it out. All seemed fine, but my front break was rubbing against my tire. Fixed that and moved on. A few miles down the road I saw another racer who seemed to be having problems. I asked if he was ok. He said something about a flat. I returned and asked if he needed a tube. He said something about his rims. I realized I wouldn't be able to help me so I moved on. I don't think I'll do that again. I don't even know why I stopped. I can barely change a tire! Anyway, The beginning and end seemed more difficult than the miles in between. It seemed windier and was definitely hillier. According to my computer I was cruising at 18-19mph at times! And I passed a few people too, including a girl in my age group! I know I am not last!

Not stop to help unless I know I can do something for them, otherwise it's just a waste of time that I can't make up for. Ride before the race to make sure all is in good working order. I don't want any more mechanical surprises! Ride more.

Again, I was not racing this. Took my time and enjoyed it. Walked the entire way.


Nothing. I want to concentrate on my pace during the swim/bike/run. I am not all that interested in cutting back on my transition times yet.

I just relaxed during the run. Started slow to get blood flowing to the right muscles and just never picked up the pace. I kept telling myself that I just wanted to finish. But I wasn't hurting so I know I could have pushed it more. Anyway, tried raspberry HammerGel for the first time at mile 2 and it tasted to good! I'll incorporate that into my races from now on!


Push it! After all it's the end of the race!

Walked a bit. That's about it. I felt strong when I finished. I probably could have gone longer, which basically tells me I held back.


I held back. Kept telling myself that it was my first tri so I was wanted to finish, and I did. I could have finished better, though. Also, not testing out my bike before the race to make sure all was well. I really should not have had to stop so much during that leg of the race.


Hard to rate, considering it is my first tri. However, compared with the du's I did last year, it seemed well organized.