The swim start was not great. Grouped by AG waves, we started in relatively deep water. There wasn't a gun, or an airhorn, but a guy on a mile. The swim was otherwise very short. The exit was very shallow, and while other people stood as soon as possible, I swam until I couldn't anymore. Watching the 1/2 the next day, I saw the pro guys dolphin diving rather than swimming until the absolute last minute. Next shallow exit, I'll try dolphin diving.

I'm not sure. I was surprised at my time actually, as the swim felt great. The timing mat was after a little dash up a sandy beach, which added onto my actual time.

I haven't gotten the hang of the bike mount without shoes. That said, I remembered to rack my bike in a low gear, as there is a little hill 100 feet out of the chute.

Learn how to do the bike mount-- running with bike shoes is clearly slower and more awkward.
Otherwise, I was pretty minimal in transition, although I did go for gloves.

I was really excited about this bike course, having ridden the course for the 1/2 several times. But they changed part of the sprint course, so that was a little unexpected. For the most part, the course was fast and smooth, convex hills, not much wind, and great volunteers at the turns and the intersections.

As with the swim, I had expected a much faster time, having ripped through the sprint course at over 20mph a couple times this summer. Then race day, about 5-6miles into the bike, I started feeling tired. Not burning, just plain tired. My HR shot up, and I had to shift down.
Thinking this race was really short, I didn't have a nutrition plan, which might have been a factor. A gel might have been good at the start of the race. I was carrying 2 8 oz water bottles, which I finished. I could have carried one bottle of cytomax, or accelerade.

Overall, a good transition. I think this was partially helped by my rack location, on the first row, and easy to find.

not much. I had set up everything pretty well.

My legs felt fine, but I was out of breath, and my HR wasn't going up, so I walked and drank water and gatorade at each water station. I was very happy to find the second half downhill, and while not particularly fast, I was pretty happy with my consistency.

This is the weakest part of my race, and something I will be focused on during the coming winter.

Walking around looking for friends, other racers


I'll definitely be back for the 1/2 next summer. While it is a little hectic, this race director is incredibly detail oriented and responsive. And I'm collecting the little towels handed out at the finish line ;)