I wasn't sure what to expect, this being my first OWS tri. But, it wasn't as scary as I thought. It took to the first buoy to really get a rhythm. I got tangled with other swimmers a couple of times before that. Then, I veered left a smidge and had to correct to get around the second bouy. It took me a moment to spot the buoy on shore. But, then the rest of the swim in felt pretty good.

I thought I was lining up on the outside, but I think in this case, the inside might have been better, as there was no rope line. I felt like it was overall a pretty good first effort.

I don't have bike shoes, so it was straight to running shoes for me. Here's an important lesson - it's better to sit down to do your socks and shoes than it is to fall over. I didn't fall, but nearly. It's also way harder to get a shirt on with a number pinned to it than I thought it would be.

I should probably get a race belt and a tri top. Ah, an excuse to shop.

I was really happy with the bike. Yah, lots of speed demons passed me. But, come on - I'm riding a 1970's steel frame 10 speed. I was darn happy with how I did.

If you do the course ahead of time, make sure you really know where the turn around is. I had pre-driven it and thought it was at one road, but it was really a bit further. Little psychological game there.

You'd think this would have been a smidge faster, considering I didn't have to do anything but take off my helmet. I didn't take it off until I got to the rack, which I think I could have at least unbuckled it. I also stopped to blow my nose. Ahhhh, allergies.

Unbuckle the helmet ASAP. Don't stop for water there, you'll get some on the way out.

I probably should have practiced running on gravel. I don't think it made a huge difference, but it's not something I've done much of before. The hardest moment was when I went up the only little rise on the course, which is right where you lose sight of the crowd. For just a sec, I thought I'd have to walk. But, I pushed through and found my legs.

Go faster! I was shooting for a sub-30 minute 5k. But, I guess now I have to aim lower.

Walked around, looked for my husband, drank some water. Found my husband, drank some sports drink and ate some food and played with my son.


I had a crappy month of training just prior to the race. I'm not sure if it made a difference or not. I'm excited to do it again and see!


Seemed like a great race for first timers. I loved that they had a separate novice wave and put us right behind the elites. It kept the course pretty non-congested for us begginers.