I think I've swam once in the past month, and it showed. I was 15-20 seconds slower per 100y than what I would expect. Drafting was pretty much impossible with such a small field. My sighting remains an attribute as I watched several faster swimmers come out of the water with the same approximate time due to swimming off course repeatedly.

Swim more. This was a late addition, spur of the moment, addition to my race calendar so I didn't really prepare for it (more focused on running).

Transition is approximately 1/3 of a mile from the swim start, hence the long time. Some people leave shoes at the swim exit but I haven't found it to be necessary.

Nothing

A beautiful bike course through the rolling hills of Petoskey. Be warned, the first mile is a bitch! Make sure your bike is in a granny gear as it's pretty much a steep non-stop climb. I had a standard crank (53/39) and an 11/28 cassette and felt like I was missing a gear. I spent most of the ride home researching compact and mid-compact cranks. I think the mid contact 52/36 is the way to go for a course like this. Many of the hills were rolling, but there were a few descents that ended with a stop sign that didn't have any volunteers so you lost a significant amount of speed before you tackled the next climb.

Mid-Compact crankset, train for more hills.

Below average change... had to sit down to get my socks on.

Not sure, just wasn't a fast change today.

This run SUCKED! I don't know if I burned too many matches riding hills on the bike, if my nutrition was off, lack of water, etc... all I know was this was the toughest 10k I've ever run and it wasn't the course. I stay nearby and have run this course many times. It was obvious they were short volunteers and could have used at least one, if not two more water stops. It was hot (83) and humid (75%+) by the time I finished and there were people out there a lot longer than I was.

I'm not sure. After looking at my heart rate data the bike seemed to be where I wanted it so I hesitate to blame over biking. I had a bottle of Infinit and a bottle of water on the bike and took a Gu around mile 2 on the run, but just died around mile 4 and ended up walking several times... and I hate walking.

Pepsi, watermelon, and finding a spot in the shade.


My run, though it may have been caused by the bike.


The Petoskey triathlon is near and dear to my heart as it was my first ever tri and Petoskey is my favorite place to visit. They were obviously a little short on volunteers this year but did the best with what they had. It's a nice swim followed by a tough bike course (sprint course isn't as bad) and a decent run. This is my first ever age group win so I'm stoked about that. The sail boat trophies were a nice touch compared to the medal you normally receive.