The first 200 yards were a nightmare. The lake was choppier than I thought, and ended up swallowing a lot of water out of the gate. With all of the adrenalin (thanks to the short warm-up - I would have burned it off if I had a longer time in the water), I ended up on the verge of a panic attack, and I actually thought about pulling off my cap, but then thought better about that. I started doing freestyle with my head out of the water, then the breaststroke through the first 200, then started doing freestyle for the rest of the race. The last 200 were solid. By the end of the swim I was out of breath and my shoulders were sore from the inital panic.

Get into the water earlier and do more warm-up. I felt better in the swim in my first triathlon, and I think that was because I did about 200 yards before the opening gun. Despit that, my swim pace, while worse than the first one, was still respectable and around training pace.

Was still out of breath from the swim by the time I reached T1. I slowed down, got my socks and shoes on, and pulled on the rest of my gear. Took a big swallow of some Accelerade and water, along with a few Shot Blocks. Some guy was totally pulling a hissy fit in the area, shouting that someone took his bike helmet. The guy next to me put it best after the race - dude, if you're in the transition area as the same time as me, you're definitely not getting any hardware. I grabbed the bike and walked quickly through the area and out.

To be honest, not too much. This is a good 90 seconds quicker than my first triathlon, which is pretty great, and I'm pleased with it. Improving my cardio will make this easier. Eventually I'll get to the barefoot riding/shoes on as I start out thing. Maybe next year.

Tough starting out - still winded from the swim. About a mile in I started feeling a little shakey, so I slowed down and took in a good amount of Acclerade. After another mile or so I felt better and was able to calm down and get into some kind of groove, but I wasn't mashing as hard as I wanted to, I think the hills I saw on my drive-through yesterday were in my head and for good reason. Ended up slipping my chain after the first really big incline and had to stop, figure out how to put it back on (I had no clue, honest! I was planned for a flat, but never losing my chain!), get it back on, and get rolling again - that probably burned a good 3-5 minutes. About 12 miles in my lower back started flaring up again - I have a form of spina bifida, and basically the pain's arthritic in nature - while I drove through it, I know it took some speed off. Kept reaching for the Accelerade on the bike, which was a goal of mine to make sure I tried to stay hydrated.

Train for more hills - this is essential as I've been training on flats. Plan for the unexpected. I need to lose some weight to help with the back discomfort towards the end of rides. Considering that my training routine was incompatible with the actual course, and the slipped chain, I'm ok with this.

Again, faster than my first triathlon. Sat down to switch shoes, ended up yelling to Heather about throwing the chain. Walked out of transition to try and get my legs back before running.

Speed ties for the laces. Less complicated bike shoes - one strap as opposed to three. Maybe a bucket to sit on while I swap shoes.

I felt better overall with this run as opposed to the first triathlon. Faster time, even though not by much. While I was still not hydrated enough, I was able to run farther and longer before and between walking. Still having trouble taking in fluid during the run, I'm going to have to work on that. There were points where I felt both of my legs were on the verge of total cramping, so I walked them out, actually stopped to stretch once.

Train. Train. Train.

Stretching, took in a sandwich and a coke.


Training. Once I get back into it after a few weeks of gym workouts, I'm going to have to work more on bricks, more running. More hill training with the bike.


I liked the race. It was challenging. I would definitely do it next year - and I'm planning on it, because there's no way I'm happy with being over 2:00. While I was totally bummed out about my race when I crossed the finish line, looking back, it was definitely a character builder and I'm pleased with how I kept my head about me in some bad situations (the swim, the chain, etc.) and gutted it out.