Well this was really rubbish. I was expecting to hit 5mins easily, and even push 4.45, really not entirely sure what went wrong. There was a break ahead of my section which gave me 2 mins of clear pool to swim into. The guy two places behind me, tapped me on the shoulder and told me that when he taps me on the foot would be fine if I let him pass on the turn. What the...? Do I look very slow or something? I asked him what his swim time was, he said he normally has a 1:30 split but decided to put in for 1:40... why would you do that? Sure enough 4 laps in he taps me and the guy immediately behind me also. Was kind of disruptive and lost time also. Whatever though was very poor performance, and will be taking a tough stand with regards to my swim training following this debacle.

Probably go faster would have helped.

Well this was disaster number two. I did actually take my time here, as I did not have my watch so I thought lets just enjoy this and not worry about time. It was my first time with my brand new tri-bike, which I have actually only been out on once, which is my one and only time using aero bars, and also my one and only time with clip in shoes. Maybe should have practiced this a bit more.

So the ground was very wet and muddy, so when it came to clipping in, firstly I could not remember which end of the pedal you clip into, then when I figured it out and I pressed down, my foot just slipped each time, making me veer off the road and almost off the bike. This went on for around 90 seconds. Luckily there were not too many people around as was all rather amateur hour.

learn to get onto bike properly

Once clipped in, boy, did that bike feel great. I had also had a proper fitting when buying the bike and it really told, I just felt like power was going straight from quads through the crank, and was really pushing out some major speed. I had not idea how fast I was going as no garmin, so thought maybe should dial it back a bit as might be a bit over exhuberant, but still felt good. Got overtaken by one guy who looked about my build (largish) so I thought should at least keep him in my sights, and did so for rest of bike section, which helped with pacing (he was a good 25 yards or so clear, so no drafting!).

The other thing with tri bike I need to get used to is the handle bar is different so when I went to stand up on the pedals and grip the lower part of the bull horn there was nothing there! almost came off again, but kept it together.

Went by around 15 people in total and only got passed by that one guy so very satisfying. Terrific course also, as an englishmen riding in Vriginia, really liked going through the cotton fields which I had not realized grew this far North.

Need some solid long practice sessions with new tri bike. If it was not for the ridiculous kerfuffle with the pedals would have easily broken 20mph and probably been clsoer to 21 or 22mph. Next time.

This worked quite well, running with the shoes which I was concerned about, as had not done before was fine. Again I took my time, but still ranked 20th for AG, not sure what everyone else finds to do, as I was really not rushing, and took time to have a drink.

This was good for me. I am normally utterly rubbish on the run. I think not having my Garmin took the pressure off. I just allowed myself to get my breath back after the ride for first half mile, and then just focused on running nice and smoothly and to enjoy the course.

I got passed by a nice lady in a green outfit who told me to 'keep going dude', so I did and managed to stay with her until about half way, and then felt considerably fresher than expected so opened up a bit. I suspect my second half was closer to 8min miles, as was really able to accelerate. Got passed by 3 or so but passed more than that, so overall was very pleased with run which is by far my weakest event.

Probably could have gone for it a bit more, but not bad as was.

Packed up bike. Crazy that there were still people who had not even started race yet. The pool system is not great with fields of this size.

Had some food, which I have to say was the best I have ever had post a tri. I am really not a big fan of greasy Domino's/Papa John pizzas as post race food. Here we had BBQ pulled pork, corn bread, coleslaw, and a cornucopia of Southern BBQ sauces to lather over this feast. Top marks to Smithfield for hospitality!


I am wondering whether not having my garmin actually was a benefit. I guess I just judged things more by how I felt rather than stressing about splits. However I do miss not being able to dissect my performance afterwards. Might try this again though, or maybe take my garmin and not look at it during the event!


Super organization, great to have it at 10am also, which makes it accessible for a drive down from DC area. Food was amazing, other Tris please take note!