Can you say "cold"? Yes, Joe swam this, true his word, without a wetsuit. Really wasn't too horrible, minus that first shock hitting the water; I couldn't breathe regularly for at least 200 yards after that. Towards the end, Regina and the kids (it was easy to spot the stupid guy NOT wearing a wetsuit) said that I was swimming and swerving like a drunk man...since I don't recall doing this at all, I think my brain was thoroughly frozen through and through at this point. Seriously, I was having a hard time spotting where I wanted to come out of the water - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-).

Definitely was glad I had prepared for the brain freeze; I had a bucket to sit on waiting for me; a welcome sight in T1. My shirt got stuck a bit going on, but other than that I took it easy, making sure I had my senses collected after the hypothermia swim leg.

Perhaps run a towel over my upper body to minimize the shirt issues.

SMOKIN! My goal this year was to improve my speeds on the bike to average at least 18-19 mph, which I did, so I'm happy. Not really too much to say here....it was a sweet ride, the bike performed perfectly, and I feel as though I left nearly all I could give on the course.

Try to drink a little more - this wasn't a problem on the bike, but I think I felt it a bit in the early parts of the run.

Was a fast transition for me - nothing much to say - just rip the bike shoes off, slip the running shoes on, two lace yanks, grab the hat, and GO!

Maybe practice some faster dismounts?

I didn't have my legs and lungs really working for me until a good 2 miles in, so I suspect my times reflect this quite a bit. I depend on my running segment to catch some of those smoking bikers, and when the legs aren't there I feel a little disappointed. However, I picked up the last 1.1 to really push down the downhill homestretch to make up for the beginning as best I could. I had an all-out sprint with another guy just for the heck of it - we went back and forth a little before the final stretch, so we decided to line up for the finish and let it all hang out.... it was close, but I think I beat him by a step :-) .

I KNOW I need to do more bike-run bricks in training to help that transition go a little better. I have pretty much slacked for the last few weeks when it comes to tri training, so it was my own fault. That just means I have lots to look forward to in the coming weeks, right?

Walked around with the family who provided AWESOME support before, during, and after the whole event - THANK YOU! Had my recovery, another gatorade, and still ended up getting my post-race headache. But this time I brought my Excedrin!


Nothing, really. I had no solid expectations for this race, so I honestly just had a blast going through the motions and kicking off the race season with a sweet venue - a MUST repeat for either Regina or I next year.


First the AWESOME stuff - the music and announceer were spectacular, and deserve a big congratulations. The whole atmosphere was fun and exciting, and I think this was probably one of my best racing venues yet. The kids had lots to do as well, playing on the beach before and after the start, as well as on a very nice playground right in the race village. Also, indoor flushing bathrooms was a refreshing change for a triathlon! Regina and I are toying with making a weekend of it next year; I'll do the half on Saturday, and she'll do the sprint on Sunday. What Fun!
Critiques - few and far between: I think the road from the transition to where the runners turn down the road (around mile 1) should be closed to traffic. There were several close calls as bikes were flying into transition, only to have runners on their left and a car crawling/stuck in traffic dead ahead. Not a good scenerio. The other suggestion would be to have more food choices - racers had NO after-race food (only drinks) and the one vendor at the event was swamped with the lines. Just a suggestion, and possibly a good source of revenue for next year. GREAT PHOTO ALBUM for this race.