As a longtime swimmer I had hoped to be competitive for this leg, but WAY underestimated the impact the cold (and swimming in a rented wetsuit) would have on my performance. Because of these, the first half of my swim was a frustrating slog that I negotiated using a water-polo-style crawl until I got my breathing under control. Finally found my stroke and was able to complete the leg a lot faster than I started. Ugh.

Get my own tri wetsuit (either sleeveless or with MUCH thinner sleeves) and spend more time warming up so I can pull better in the race.

I'm new to this, but I'm reasonably sure that transitions are faster on an empty bladder. Wish I hadn't been so preoccupied with trying to breathe during the swim--I could have taken care of this in the lake. :-/

Go where the fishies go. I'm glad the powder room was close to the transition area, though.

The race organizers describe this course as "mostly flat with a couple of small hills." I'd describe it as mostly hilly, with a couple flat spots and some rough pavement thrown in for good measure. You begin climbing a short hill right out of the transition area, hit another right after a hard right turn, and then get a nice quad-burning climb heading back into the park for the second lap. Having been forced by an unexpectedly-hectic work schedule done all my bike training on a mag trainer except for one day this past week, I wasn't too disappointed with my time. I was riding a 25 year-old road/tri bike that I bought new all those years ago, and although my ride was definitely old-skool, I spent enough time on it over the years that I felt comfortable by the end of the leg. I didn't time the laps, but I'm certain the second was several minutes faster than the first.

Might be time to look at a bike upgrade. That said, I *really* just need more time in the saddle, and some special attention to hill training.

I hadn't had enough time to get used to new clipless pedals and shoes, so a few days prior to the race I swapped them out for clips and straps, which I've always been comfortable with. I figured that any minor efficiency gain from the clipless pedals wasn't worth the risk of a crash at this stage, and an added benefit was that I didn't have to change shoes in T2. :-)

Nothing at this point.

I began the run leg with numbness in both feet from the bike (I need to figure that out--happens both with bike shoes and running shoes), which meant I had to walk the first couple hundred yards. I fully expected the run leg to be more of a walk/run, though, since I hadn't had time to work in any bricks in practice. Stitches (I still get 'em) were only minor, and toward the end of the leg the bottom of my right felt like it was about to burst into flames. Still I managed to jog most of the way, and had just enough in the tank for a short sprint across the finish line with a woman who had been running at the same pace for just about the entire leg. Felt GREAT to be done.

Continue to work on my running, and make bricks part of my practice from time to time. Since I'd never run a mile in my entire LIFE before September of this year, though, I'm satisfied with my progress so far.

Ate half a banana. Packed up and walked my bike back to the car.


This was my very first tei, and I've used it as a means of getting in shape after letting myself go to seed for about two years. I had about three months preparation (couch-to-tri), and my only goal for the race was to finish without puking. I accomplished that, and although I know I was under-prepared to post anything close to a decent time, I'm thrilled that I've worked up to this level of fitness and I know I'll be able to do better in future races.


Fun race!