Informed by Jim, Andrea, Tim, and Gary that the current/chop was very bad. Andrea said it was the worst she had seen. I felt a little out of sorts for the first 100m, but I got comfortable and finished strong. I actually had a lot of fun with the swim, and knowing it was bad makes me excited about future tris.

More practice. I now know what to expect, and though TI drills help, it's a lot about sighting and high arm position through stroke.

My first transition, so I had no idea what to expect. I probably will practice more with mounting and getting into my shoes (I sat on the ground to get them on), also will probably either not wear gloves or don them while on the bike. I could have easily saved 45sec.

See Above.

I really felt good on the bike, and am disappointed in my pace. I think it was due to the headwind coming back (dropped down to 15mph). But I really could have put more time in the saddle, and will definitely do so from here on out.

More time in the saddle before the race.

Again, only the first T2. I tried to unstrap my shoes, but I still came unclipped. So then I had to run with my shoes half on. I had to lift the bike off a curb onto the grass while running, and almost went over the top. I also didn't have speedlaces, so I had a little trouble getting into my shoes. And I took a drink of water, which I could have either done before I was off the bike or on the run.

See above.

Running is not my strongpoint so anything sub-9 is great. I'm really happy with my time, I though I would be in 10-11m pace. I was dying in the beginning though, my scalenes were screaming as were my abdominals. It did get better until the big hill, but improved again after that. Andy ran the last 1.25 mi. with me which was awesome. And I sprinted the last 10th of a mile, which killed but was exhilerating at the end.

Maybe save a little more for the run, but otherwise I'm really happy with it.

Water and a Snickers Marathon bar.


Inexperience, weight, could have trained more.


the chopiness of Lake Erie was bad (so I'm told) even though I have a good time. Didn't like running on grass. The fact we had to wait until the end of the awards ceremony for Jim was stupid (should have started with the winner). But otherwise, I LOVED IT! I have to say that I'm absolutely hooked. I really can't wait until the next race. It was really nice having Ri, my brother/sister in law and parents there. What a great cheering section (my bro even had a sign!). Also SO GREAT having the crew from the Clev there. Jim won the Intermediate, Tim 33rd in the Intermediate, Gary 29th in the Sprint. I really had such a blast.