The conditions were perfect for my first OWS experience. I wasn't prepared for the cold water which threw off my breathing a bit. I know this was my limiter for the race and I actually swam right on target to what I had experienced in training. I am proud that I wasn't any slower in the OW as compared to the pool.

Practice more OWS prior to the event. I had no idea what to expect.

The transition area was a "MUD BOWL". It must have rained the night before because it was a sloppy, mucky mess. I didn't practice keeping my shoes on the pedals and mounting/strapping in during the ride. I didn't run in the transition area because of the mud. I would have went down if I had.

Practice transitions at home. I also want to learn how to leave my shoes attached to the pedals and then strap in while riding.

The bike ride was my favorite part of the race. There was some slight lactic acid in my quads but I tried to keep it in a gear were I know my cadence was 90 - 100. I think I did well considering I used my Trek mountain bike (hard tail no front suspension) with slicks on it. My avg speed was what I experienced in my training rides. The bike is not the most aero nor light but it got the job done for my first tri. My goal is to get a tri bike next spring so I hope that next year wil be different.

Nothing

I took extra time to put on socks. My feet were wet and muddy from all of the mud so I tried to towel off as much as possible and put on some socks. I tried running barefoot in a training run a month ago and ended up with blisters so I needed the socks.

Nothing.

This was the first race I did were I didn't wear a watch. My goal for the event was to enjoy it and not worry about time. I ran at a pace that I felt was comfortable. I tried to keep a high cadence for the entire run. My legs really didn't feel too bad, even coming off the bike. I just kept a steady pace and eventually passed several people in the last half mile. Two of the guys were in my age group so I was proud of that.

More mileage in base training so I can work on some speed for next time.

My warm-down consisted of trying to find something to drink. The race organizers did a poor job of making it obvious that there was bottled water in a barrel to the left of the finish way past the finish chute. Especially when they had food set up to the right. What racer wouldn't expect to find water where the food was?


Swimming and biking. Swimming is my #1 limiter with biking #2. My goal is to put in a lot of time in the saddle over the winter. I bought a fluid trainer and I have the treadmill. I also will put in a lot of time swimming. At least 4 days per week to work on my technique and endurance. I could really benefit from a coach but trying to schedule that without cutting out family time doesn't seem realistic.