Started out BOP to the left and tried to give myself plenty of room to keep from getting beaten up. It wasn't anytime before I was swimming into someone's legs. The trip to the first turn bouy went by incredibly fast, probably b/c the wind was blowing in that general direction. I was swimming along enjoying the experience, and when I took a sight-breath the yellow bouy was just to my right. Wow, almost missed it! Made the turn and got my bearings by looking for the next yellow bouy - WAY down there! Swam about halfway to the next turn bouy and had to flip over on my back to empty lake water from my mouth and nose and to catch a few deep breaths, maybe more than just a few. About a 100 yards later I started crawling on top of someone else. Actually, on the reach of one of my strokes I poked some chick right square in the ass (yeah, between the cheeks). At least I hope it was a chick. Pretended like it didn't even happen, put my head in the water, scooted to the right and started up again only to crawl over someone else. What's up with that? They need to swim on the FAR side of the lane! Speaking of which, where were the lane lines?? To avoid repeating the uncomfortable butt-poking incident, I started a breast stroke, which for me is just slightly moving forward while treading water. I did that for about a minute so I didn't run into anyone else, okay maybe to rest a little also. Finally started back with freestyle and felt really good and had a really good stroke rhythm going and what do you know but the last turn bouy was just up ahead. Made the turn for home and just hung to the left of the pack. About halfway to the ramp my hand struck sand! I looked to my right and I had drifted 5-10 yards away from everyone and I was by myself. Swam back over and in no time I was coming up to the ramp. Several people were already walking about 20 yards from the ramp so I decided to do the same. After stepping on some rocks and concrete I finally made the ramp - my first tri swim was finally over!

Deep thoughts and other reflections...... At about the last turn I started thinking about my next training program and how I could work in more swim workouts so I would be prepared for the 1500m swim in August. I guess it's a good sign that during the most difficult leg of my first tri I'm already thinking about the next big tri and how to prepare for it! Also, one of the things I noticed was how quiet, and somewhat lonely, it was out there. For some strange reason I feel a lot more comfortable swimming in the open water, breathing specifically, . When I'm in the pool it seems like breathing is more difficult and labored. But in the open water, the waves don't bother me (even as choppy as the water was Sunday) and it seems like I get a much deeper lungful of air. Weird. Maybe it was all just adrenalin.

Get in more endurance work so I don't have to back or breast stroke to catch my breath.

Thanks to Haley (comet) - and no thanks to Aaron (jeepfleeb) and Mike (mkmbharris), who were standing there when I set it up, chortling about how cute first-time triathletes are - my transition area was set up perfectly. Wiped off my feet and put my socks and cycling shoes on. Then put on my HR monitor and tri jersey (it's too big to wear swimming) followed by my helmet and shades. Took the bike off the rack with a little difficulty, clip-clopped thru the timing mat, mounted my trusty steed, and off I went.

Leave shoes clipped into pedals. Wear a tighter tri jersey with my HR monitor. Do some training rides without socks to see if I can do it at a race.

I had the presence of mind the night before to put the bike in a low gear, so I was good to go. Shifted to a couple bigger gears and began the bike leg of my first tri.
Going out on the first stretch was great. The wind was at my back and the course was very flat. I passed a few people and my comp said I was cruising at about 23-24 so I was pretty satisfied. Made the first turn pretty well and the wind greeted me with a stern slap in the face! Just great - I get a flat course and it's windy. Oh well. About a mile or so later I looked at the comp - 20mph. At this point I'm having one of those moments where I wonder where my actual body is and who replaced it with this fine machine. At about mile 5 I looked up at the next cyclist I would overtake...racer 530, Haley (comet)! She was cruising along on Marcy's (dodgersmom) sweet red Trek. Man that's a hot bike! Yelled out "530!", cruised up beside her, exchanged pleasantries and went on my way. The wind was merciless at this point and knocked me down to about 15-16 mph until the next downhill which only gained me a couple mph. Made the next turn and with the wind at my back was home free. Sped down the park road and saw the big American flag and Aaron - man, that guy's fast! Yelled a greeting and cruised on in.

Unlike a lot of my training rides, I rode the vast majority of the race in my aeros - like I'm supposed to. The only times I rode the hoods or drops was when I needed a different position to relieve stiffness in my neck and shoulders.

I rode up to the transition area and realized I had forgotten to get out of my shoes, so I did a sweet rolling dismount with my shoes on. Clip-clopped thru the T area and racked my bike.

Nothing, other than more intense training to be able to cut thru the wind better and to get out of my shoes before dismount. I didn't do everything right, but for my first race I think it was a great ride.

Fairly smooth transition. Found my spot without problem. Traded shoes easily, put on my cap and off I went.

Maybe do the run without socks.

I felt pretty good coming off the bike. Without the breeze on the bike it turned out to be a little warm. Of course the legs were pretty heavy, but not a problem. What was a problem was trying to slow down to a pace that I could comfortably maintain the first mile so I could have negative splits. Came to the first aid station and grabbed a nice cool water and doused my head. It wasn't long until I was regretting every single Sonic hamburger and banana split I'd had the last few months. If only I were 20lbs lighter this run would be a piece of cake, not to say that it was hard but it could have been a little more enjoyable if I had been a lot more disciplined with my eating habits. I didn't get good legs under me until about 2 miles or so into the run. What's up with that?! It shouldn't take that long, should it? One thing I noticed pretty quickly is that all the people I passed on the bike were now blowing past me on the run! The next couple aid stations I didn't drink any water since it was already sloshing in my stomach, so I told the volunteers to "hit me", and with some sadistic pleasure they splattered me in the chest with ice cold water! Couldn't have felt better! On the way back after the turn-around, I met Morgan (prodrive) and shouted a little encouragement at him. Shortly thereafter I met racer 530 again, Haley (comet). Shouted "530!" at her and got a great smile and a wave. Looked up and saw the finish line! Holy sh**, I'm about to finish my first triathlon! This has gone by too fast! I've done all this training for the last few months and I've only got about a quarter mile left in my first race! So I picked up the pace, squeezing every last ounce out of it. Just up ahead I saw this guy who had passed me on the bike. Forty-something guy who was a few inches shorter than me but outweighed me by about 30lbs. I couldn't let this guy get by with passing me on the bike, so I obligingly returned the favor. Finished very strong the last quarter mile and my first tri was done!

Maybe run without socks. Drink less. My stomach was sloshing around a little. It wasn't a problem but if it were much hotter could have turned into one.

Walked away from the finish area for a couple minutes of alone time, then walked back over to my dear sainted Mother and my buddy Mark who's trained with me the last few months. Stretched a little. Drank some water and gatorade. Ate some Einstein's bagels and a banana, then enjoyed the rest of the festivities.


Swim endurance still isn't where it needs to be, causing me to have to back or breast stroke.

Carrying too much excess poundage - affected both the bike and the run. It's obvious by my rankings that my weakest leg is the run.

I haven't done any increased intensity work to speak of.


I rated this race a "5-Best" because I had an absolute blast! It was well planned and well operated. The post-race was great. The pizza, bananas, bagels and gatorade were good, but mingling with other BT'ers was outstanding.

For the last several months I have been building an aerobic base that had eroded to nothing after 15 years of relative cardio inactivity. I did virtually no speed work to speak of, especially running, so to turn in my fastest bike ride and 5k run on my first tri is, in my opinion, a big accomplishment.

Looking back on my thoughts during the race, there were a couple things that struck me:

First, I spent a lot of time thinking about my next training plan and how to improve on this sprint performance, and how to prepare myself for my first Olympic race in August. I can't remember any time at all when I thought "What have I gotten myself into", or "I'll never do this again". Sure, there were a couple times on the run when I wished it were over, but that's nowhere near saying "I never want to do this again."

Second, I felt great satisfaction in knowing that I was doing something that 99.9 percent of the population has never, nor never will do. When you tell someone you do triathlons - stop, let me rephrase that: When you tell someone you are a triathlete (gotta get used to that one), they automatically think "Ironman" and the old Wide World of Sports/Gatorade Chris Leigh video. Some may think it's misleading, but I think it's okay not to tell them the difference. Let them think what they will. Some will actually think you're insane, or stupid, an idiot, or don't take "life" seriously. That's okay, they just don't understand. Those are the same people who sit on their asses all evening watching reality shows instead of living for themselves the reality that's actually out there waiting for them, the reality that we actually pursue. But remember, most of the others will look at you in a different light than they look at themselves and most other people. There's a lot of responsibility in that, so don't let them or yourselves down.