This was my first ocean swim, and my favorite open water swim to date. The water temp was great... a little cool as I jumped in, but quickly comfortable in the suit. I was able to crawl stroke the entire race, a first for an open water event for me. I had a nice breathing routine, mostly breathing to my right every fourth stroke, with some breathing every other stroke toward the end. My sighting was mostly good, with the exception of one sharp right turn I mistakenly took about half way through. Best of all, I just enjoyed the hell out of this swim. It was a gorgeous morning, I had plenty of space despite the large group start, and I felt comfortable the entire swim. Wasn't my fastest time by any stretch, and about 3:45 slower than I did in the pool for a 500, but considering the beach runs on both ends, and the open water, I'll take it.

Nothing. This was a great first ocean swim and I just look forward to improving with more training and experience.

This transition was fine. I wasn't terribly quick, but neither was I terribly inefficient. In my last two triathlons my heartrate has spiked like crazy during T1 and I have suffered through the bike as a result. I purposely turned my effort down a notch and I think it helped me keep my heart rate in check this time. Also, we had a good 400 yards to run from bike rack to exit, and I'm just not that adept at running in my bike shoes.

Interesting loop course that takes you through the downtown, out a rural highway, then back on another rural highway through some pretty farm land and back into downtown. One fun descent and one decent climb, otherwise a reasonably flat ride. Seemed to be some headwind on the way out the first few miles, and I had a hard time keeping above about 16 mph. Going the other direction, my speed was much faster. Perhaps I just found my legs after the swim, but I'm guessing there was wind in my face going out and wind at my back coming back in.
I felt much stronger on the bike this time than in the last couple races this summer... no problems with side stiches, and none of the heart rate spiking I experienced in the other events. I can obviously get faster, but felt good here.

My bike was in pretty rough shape after the plane ride. My front brake was apparently out of whack and when I hopped on the bike, my brake locked and I collided with some camera equipment set up at the transition. Could have been bad, and certainly I need to do a better shake down cruise next time. And, of course, more training..

Long way from bike dismount back to the rack, and I jog/walked the distance. My right ankle was really bothering me, and felt particularly uncomfortable to run in my bike shoes, so I figured walking was probably fine if I wanted any shot at getting through the run.

As usual, I suffered on the run. This was my slowest run pace of any event this summer. But considering my hamstring/ankle situation, I was reasonably pleased with my performance. I wanted to stop and walk in the worst way, but made myself run (or, more accurately, jog) everything but the water stations. Water down the back of my neck made an enormous psychological difference. Tough to fly down from Alaska and race in temperatures about 30 degrees warmer than I've been training in, and the cold water really helped.

Considering my hamstring and ankle pain, the run was fine. I finished reasonably strong, and then iced and Adviled my way through the afternoon. Ankle actually feels much better the day after, so I am pleased to have completed the race and not exacerbated or injured myself further. I can certainly improve my running with more focus on that activity. First I need to get this nerve problem resolved.

My dad met me at the finish. Really nice of him to come down and greet me, and I got to share my "runner's high" with him. I felt great right after the race, and quickly downed two waters, a gatorade, and some orange slices. Then I started to hurt, with my ankle really bothering me. I slowly ambled back to the car and headed back to my folks for some ice and advil.


Considering my insane work schedule and limited time for workouts over the past two months, I was really pleased with this race. I just thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous weather, the vibe of the race, the pretty course, and the experience of traveling to a new destination for a race. I may never be competitive in these events, but when I set aside my ego and evaluate my performance against where I was a year ago, I am thrilled. My first open water swim last August required about 15 minutes to go 450 yards, with lots of backstroke, breaststroke and even side stroke to just get through it. This time, I crawled the whole way, stayed calm, and even enjoyed the experience.

I am going to try to keep up my running and build a more solid base this winter, with hopes I can come back next year and run some sub-30 5ks in sprint events.


This was a fun race. Well run, with friendly volunteers and a nice, low-key energy. Some really fine athletes in the crowd, but a comfortable and supportive mix of ability. A great experience and I will certainly try to come back next year and do it again.