Second time swimming in a wetsuit, felt decent but I need to make more room in the shoulders so as to not fatigue them from working against the pull back of the material on each stroke. I had to change direction often but I sighted frequently enough to not go far off course. I'm sure I was a solid BOP'er but I didn't follow the other's progress and we had 2 waves behind me that skewed my perception of placement. I felt good in the swim even though I'm slow, I really enjoyed it, ended up 126th of 161 in the swim :]

Hopefully I'll develop better cardio for swimming so that I can do bilateral breathing w/out feeling winded which may help me swim straighter and therefore sight less (and be off course less) which would improve my time.

I'm not really pushing for time as it being my first and still overweight I did this event to have a health goal to work towards so I put my cycling shoes on & then jogged to the mounting area. Forgot my bucket for water which wasn't a big deal, just used the towel to get sand off my feet and put socks on anyway. Felt organized and no mistakes, was 114th of 161 in T1 times.

bring water bucket, maybe when/if I get more competitive I'd consider no socks, shoes already clipped in, etc..

Course was well marked and staffed. I used the areo bars more than I do in training (which was cool). I need to have my seat slightly tilted down to be comfortable in aero but when sitting up I slide down a bit so it's a tough trade off (maybe I'll cough up some dough for an Adamo?). It was good to have 1/2 the street/lane for room to pass. I think I passed 25+ people? Finally heard those fast disc riders come whizzing by (kewl). I'm uncomfortable using the water bottle while riding as I don't feel able to keep a strong pace or have solid stability so I'll either consider a camelback but will probably go with a podium quest aero bottle (want to do more aero riding anyway, it felt good on the legs too). The bike was my best performing event and the one I enjoyed the most too [that's probably why :] I didn't push my legs hard, I know I'm a slow runner at my current level of training and didn't want to kill my legs [I was just trying to finish w/ out stopping afterwall :] Ended up 85th of 161 people.

With better conditioning I would ride harder, maybe change gears less on hills to maintain some more speed over keeping the same cadence? I need to incorporate better hydration during this event.

I have mtn bike shoes w/ both a buckle & velcro fitting so they're not the fastest for removal but it was ok I guess? I don't own quick ties for my running shoes (yet?) so there's a delay. T2 felt ok though and I was off & running! It was cool that my family & friends could be 10ft away from transition and I got to say hi and how I felt too. Told 'em I was a bit winded & thirsty but otherwise doing well! 154th of 161 ~

Uhh.. sure, new fancy cycling Tri shoes & laces :]

I felt slow which is about right for me when I've done my brick trainings. I didn't push myself as I wanted to make sure I finished the run w/out walking. It felt like I kept the same pace the whole time. I did see a runner get knocked down by a cyclist after a turn. I think the runner drifted after making the turn and the bike had someone next to him so he couldn't really avoid the runner. I tried to help with runner, he only had a scrape on his leg but told me to go on (the cyclist managed not to fall as he screeched to stop & tried to help too). Ended up 149th of 161 folks.

Try not to run at 250 and have the ability to run 5K for more than 2 weeks prior to an event :] Again, as I train more and feel confident I'll push myself more, 1st race wasn't a timesetting goal for me ~

just did my usual stretching plan


Overweight, add the intake of some cals during race (only had water), more training, all kinds of sweet new Tri gear, etc..


I had a good race, my expectations weren't high with my limited previous exposure but I felt safe and had no questions of where and what. The support of staff & volunteers was great. I look forward to working on my fitness & weightloss and doing an Oly in the Spring!