Horrible, dreadful swim. I thought maybe I was over having issues in the water but I guess a combination of not getting in an open water environment since last October coupled with limited swim practice because of a dislocated shoulder lead to the opposite. The water was cool but it wasn't that cold, however, as soon as I jumped in my heart rate jumped through the roof and I knew it was trouble. I never got comfortable the entire way although the second half was better. The first 750 I would swim, stop, breast stroke, breath, try and calm myself and go again.

Good thing I decided to do this because lesson 1 learned: I need to spend more time on my swim. More specifically, more stroke work even though I think I was moving fairly well when I was actually swimming. More importantly though I need to really spend more time OWS. Promised myself 300 meters in that I would get to the lake at least 2 times a month this year moving forward.

More OWS!

As most Redrock/Lifetime events they had wetsuit strippers and I was so blasted by the time I got out of the water I took advantage of it. I didn't want to get up after my suit was off.

This is the biggest reason I signed up for this race; to see where my bike focus has brought my bike performance. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it went and the speed I've found on the bike. There's still some work to be done before August but I'm confident I can hit my goals with 3 more months of work and soon dropping the roadie with clip ons for a dedicate TT bike with wheels and aero helmet. Also, if I could get out of the water in better shape I know the bike only gets better too and there's a huge bonus to realize there.

Other experimental/learning point of the day: nutrition. My normal plan would be one gel on the bike but today I went out with the intent to see what I could handle. Since I spent a week out in the water paddling around I took a shot from my flask about 10 mins into the bike. 30 minutes later took another and then after deliberation of the intelligence of the idea decided to take one more (total of 3) with about 10 mins left on the bike. That last one came back to haunt me. Lesson 2 learned.

Pretty decent transition overall but I had a bit of a struggle getting my right shoe slipped on as my extenex laces were a bit too tight...plus I need heel loops on my NB RC1600s. Lesson 3 learned: go have some heel loops sewn on and spend more time with the elastic laces.

Not what I hoped for. Target was 39:xx for this run but it obviously didn't happen. Coming off the bike I could really feel that last gel in my stomach and it was causing issues big time. All I could do was try to hit my pace and hope everything stayed down. This run was hot and I was melting after the first 1.5 miles. Not so much that it was THAT hot but I think more because it's early season and I've had zero training in the heat of the day. So couple a hot day with a late start and it's meltdown time. Took two waters at every station, one to drink and one for the back of neck which did help. I really went into a black hole with this heat but just focused on moving forward, getting water in me and not pulling up. It was definitely a test of how much I could suffer. By mile 4 my stomach was finally coming back around and the chills were subsiding and I was finally able to pick it back up and run around 6:30s. Unfortunately, it was too little too late and I ended off my goal and too far back. All I could do during the last half of the run was think about that dang swim and where it left me for the day; playing catch up and not running MY race.

Lesson learned: No gel so close to transition. Lesson 2 learned: I can go into a fairly deep black hole and still keep it going.

Easy as can be it was the swim, or lack thereof. I should be able to nail a 27minute swim comfortably but until I can feel comfortable in OWS I'm always going to be gassing myself early and playing catch up.


From a performance standpoint this felt like my worst race ever. However, from a learning and evaluation point I think this was absolutely invaluable. Considering this was only my 4th tri ever and I just started this journey last August I have a lot left to learn but felt I grew years in that knowledge after today. If I execute the swim like I should I'm sitting on the podium today rather than in 9th. With that said I'm still content as I can see my bike moving along well, my run is stable given the little attention I've given it, I learned some limits out there and found some new gears. I'll get the swim licked before August, get the TT bike and goodies, bolster the bike with a lot more work and hopefully have a very solid Steelhead 70.3. If I'm lucky maybe they'll cancel the swim this year ;)