The fierce winds kicked up some pretty big waves. As we were ready to jump in, I saw that there were at least a half dozen people grasping onto kayaks and they were only a few meters out of the start.

We were called to jump in and the RD did a quick countdown from 10 so that we didn't float away. One thing that surprised me was that, when I jumped in, only 3 feet down, everything went black. I knew that this was going to be a fun swim through murky river water.

I tried to breathe bilaterally but ended up consistently taking on water. I eventually settled on a breathing rhythm that mapped the wave frequency, so I was consistently breathing on every stroke to the right as I decended the crest of the wave. It meant that I wasn't taking on as much water as before, but I also had to stop swimming to sight in.

The swim just seemed to go on and on, so I just started to focus on swimming from buoy to buoy. This seemed to get me through the anxiety of taking so long in the water.

At one point, my goggles had fogged up and increased my difficulty in sighting. I stopped and wiped them off with a finger. Not a good idea when you're floating in chopping water.

More practice sighting in river and ocean swims.

Anti-fog on the goggles to keep them from clouding up and keeping me from having to stop mid-swim

I've gotten pretty good at the run and strip in my wetsuit. This time I made sure to hold on to my cap and goggles, unlike Columbia.

Suit off pretty easy. Socks and shoes on. Helmet buckled and shades on. Spritz of sunscreen and I'm off.

Nothing

4TH in my AG!!! I can't believe that!

On the downside, I may have pushed too hard on the bike and paid for it on the run, but thats for later.

I kept a solid cadence and passed several people right out of the gate. I had fallen behind in the swim and now was the time to make up for it.

The practice for and race at Columbia prepared me well for how to handle climbing and descending. I geared down for a high cadence and passed some people who were hammering up in too high of a gear. I was able to keep a minimum speed of 14mph going up, and got up to 37mph on the descent.

Everything else on the course was pretty much flat, but I stayed in the aero bars, kept a high cadence and simply kept passing people.

After the 1/2 way point, I started to feel like maybe I was going out too hard and my back started to cramp up. My mind turned away from the pain as the wind became my foremost nemesis.

On the 2nd climb over the bridge, the winds were gusting pretty fierce by this time. I struggled through to maintain an 8mph climb and then really got a feeling for the winds when I maxed out at 18mph on the downhill while I was PUSHING!

One of the best feelings of the day was that I was not pulling up the rear of the course. Because I went out with my age group, it meant that there were others going after me. It gave me the feeling, for once, that I was not last on the course and that there would still be things going on when I came in at the finish.

When I came in, I realized that I didn't drink enough on the bike. There was still 1/3 of the gatorade left in my bottle.

Nothing I can do about the wind.

Strengthen the back.

Drink more.

Solid transition. Bike shoes off, running shoes on. Quick drink of water and I was off.

Learn to take off the shoes while still on the bike.

I thought I may have pushed too hard on the bike and this was where I paid for it.

Coming out of T2 my legs were simply dead. I kept up a run as best as I could, and walked through the water stations. I was also fighting a feeling of vomiting. The last gel that I took on the way out was simply sitting in my stomach like a rock.

I did get a boost when I passed Eric on the run and saw him going strong. That lasted for about a 1/2 mile until I fell back into a slogging rhythm and I was being consistently passed.

My final pace still recorded as a PR, but I'll have to get faster if I'm going to feel more comfortable in triathlons.

I sprinted out the last 1/2 mile after I saw my friends Eric and Kristen standing on the side of the road cheering me home.

More water
More run training

Stretching and took in some water. Still trying to get my stomach to empty.


The swim was brutal and the wind on the bike was attrocious.


All in all, this was a fun race and a great opening salvo to my Triathlon dream weekend. The 2nd phase was spectating at Eagleman on Sunday.

I had one friend doing the race with me, and two more there to support. We all shared a suite at a hotel the night before, and it was like spring break again. A pure blast.

I did learn that I'd rather compete as an age grouper from now on, and not try to compete as a Clydesdale anymore. In the near future, I will not be able to compete in either classification, but I had SOOO much more fun racing when I knew that transition wouldn't be empty, the finish line would still be populated, and food would still be hot when I got done.