Took it easy during the swim. Perceived effort, in a scale from 1 to 5, was about a low 3. I didn' realize there was a small current and didn't compensate for it, resulting in a swim 10 minutes longer than planned. Originally, the swim course was designed as two 1,500-meter rectangular laps, but at the last minute it was changed to three 1,000-meters triangular laps.

Should put a little more effort into the swim. I took it too easy. Definetely need to work on my technique. Will increase swim workouts to three per week, minimum 1 hour each and incorporate more interval sessions.

Nothing special. I always take my time during transition to ensure everything is ok, specially in a long race like this one.

Drank one can of ensure and proceeded to rinse the salt water, towel-dry, put on helmet, sunglasses, socks, shoes, sunscreen, and vaseline everywhere.

Perhaps move a little faster.

This was mostly a professional race, with only a few age-groupers. By the time I was out of the water, almost everyone was gone, only a few bikes remained in transition. I was far behind, and with all the good athletes outthere, I knew there was no way I was able to catch up, so I shifted to survival mode and maintained a steady, consisten effort during the bike, a strategy that later proved to be the right one.

Will try to hold it and reduce the amount of "pit-stops" during the ride. I lost about 10 minutes in those.

Again, took it easy during transition. Needed to hydrate, eat, and lower HR before starting the run. Change socks, applied sunscreen, drank two bottles of water with 3 salt pills and one gel. Bathroom stop, again.

Stop and take my time to greet the family, all of whom have been watching under the sun for the last 6 hours.

Started the Run feeling really comfortable at a 9:30 mile pace with :30 rest walks in between miles. Heat exhaustion kicked in earlier than expected at around mile 10-11 which caused my HR to got up from a comfortable 154 to about 170, and never went down from there. Ended up doing the jog/walk shuffle for the last 4.5 miles as my legs began to cramp.

Don't skip the long runs. I ran a couple of time up to 15 miles and never covered the complete distance of 18-19 miles I had planned on doing. Also, need to increase the endurolytes during the run. It was extremely hot and only took 3 pills every 30 minutes. Need to increase to about 8 to compensate for the extreme heat and avoid cramps.

Got a massage from wife, and a couple of nice, cold Michelob Ultras.


Went out to easy in the swim when I could've pushed a little harder. Bike performance was good and needed no changes. Should've taken it easier at the beggining of the run. Didn't feel the effort until I actually hit the end of lap 2 with another lap to go. I underestimated the heat and didn't supplement enough with endurolytes which resulted in severe leg cramps during the last lap.


For an inaugural event with only 110 participants I was surprised at the quality of the presentation and organization. The staff members made everyone feel welcome and taken care of. They appeared to be geniously concerned and willing to cater to everyone's needs. At least that's how I felt and I am a "nobody" when compared to the rest of the field, mostly professionals and elites (going for a $50,000 prize purse). The swim was uneventful and very calmed. Transition was very well setup. The bike course was a little dissapointing as it was 6 boring laps of approx 13 miles each. The only complaint about the bike course was the availability of only ONE aid station at the end of each lap (there should've been at least another one at the other end). On top of that, the volunteers working that aid station were inexperienced or not properly trained on how to do their job. Some of the kids and adults, in their desire to help, were getting right in the middle of the road blocking the course and causing riders to collide. The run was very well organized and stocked with plenty of aid stations (almost every 1.5 - 2 miles). Towels soaked in ice cold water were constantly made available. A very nice touch that many, I'm sure, really appreciated. In the future, I believe sponges would work better as they can be easily placed under the hat, inside the suit, etc. Volunteers manning the aid stations during the run really shined. Because of the way the laps were designed, you had to pass some of the aid stations up to SIX times. By that time, you were already on a first name basis with those volunteers. I was easily identifiably because of my Coast Guard suit (only two of us out there that day), and by the time I was arriving at each aid station, they already knew what I needed. The guys at stations #1, #3, #5.. you guys kicked a$$, ALWAYS PARATUS. The finish line was very nicely prepared, althought I would reconsider the whole "ramp" thing next time. The only thing needed was more spectators to really give the whole thing that "big event feeling" you get at many of those dotted M events. Two of my favorite things were the athletes meeting the night before, and the awards presentation dinner. The food at both dinners was EXCELENTE!.. and as a plus, we had the pleasure of sharing the table with some of the Pros(Stephen Bayliss (2nd place), Bella Comerford (5th female), and Manuel Barreiro (7th male) all of whom graciously shared their race experience with the rest of us mortals. Overall it was a great and memorable experience. I'm now considering signing up for the Halifax race as well as the series finale in Texas, and if those all half as good as this one, it will still be way ahead of many other races outhere.