I'm pretty sure this course was longer than 440. I placed pretty high, and that's a really slow swim for me if the distance was accurate. Everyone's swims were slow if you go by pace, so I'm guessing it was longer.

The swim was pretty congested. I was passing people from 2 waves ahead of me. I found open water pretty well though. On the way out, I did veer left a little. I'm not used to those buoys on the right. Weirdness.

Sight a little more at the beginning to get my bearings better.

The transition was big, and you were supposed to mount on the grass. Screw that. I ran to the street to mount. My bike sucks on grass. The family was there cheering me on, so a few words were shared in transition.

If I only cared about speed, I'd not speak to the family. But, the few seconds it cost - they were worth it.

I was super happy with my bike leg. That's the best average speed I've done in a race yet. And, while I'd really like to hit 20, I'm still pleased that I'm moving in the right direction. I tried to be aware of drafting issues, and using the slingshot thing when I could. There was one point where I was having a hard time not being in someone's draft, but that didn't last long. The course was relatively congested and I was passing a lot of people. Of course, there were plenty passing me, too.

I think I can push a smidge harder. I'm still not sure how hard I can push on the new bike - and I'm still not sure if I should be pushing the bigger gears. I used them for a while on this ride and it really helped the average speed.

Oh, and don't drop your only gatorade bottle. Luckily I had water, too. But, I was really missing that gatorade.

I missed my row. Argh! There was a whole crew of relay people clustering right inside transition, and for some reason my head registered that as the edge of transition. I was on the outside row, so I ended up going down one row in. I figured it out right away, but it cost me probably 30 seconds. I also didn't take my feet out of the shoes on the approach. Doh!

Take your feet out of your shoes, goofball. And, remember where your transition is.

The run started out so good. I felt good, I was controlling my breathing. I was pacing well. Then at mile 2, BAM - I got a back spasm. It was a doozy. I'm sure it had everything to do with sleeping (or not sleeping) on the hard ground all night. I walked a smidge, ran, walked another smidge, and ran it in. But, I hurt like h.e. double hockey sticks. Of course I was too stubborn to just walk all the way - not after I'd been doing so well the rest of the race.

Um, no camping the night before a tri.

Drank water, stretched, looked for my family, got some food, checked my times, packed up and headed back to the campground.


Camping the night before didn't help much. I definitely need to spend more time working on the run. It kills me every time.


This race needs a novice division. There are a LOT of beginners doing it, and it would be really helpful to not have to navigate through them all.