St. Anthony's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

I got off to a pretty relaxed start from the beach, walking into the water at the back of the pack. In the first 100 meters I managed to get a big gulp of Salt Water! Always a good way to start a swim. I kept an easy pace and barely kicked for the first 1000 meters. Trying to conserve my energy for a swim distance I have not done before. I found myself off course quite a bit. Not sure if it was due to the current or my lack of navigation skills. I actually had to wait to get on top of the waves to sight the buoys on occasion. Seemed like I was really fighting to stay on course.

I may have been too conservative with the kicking. I was trying to pace myself and I think I was not carrying enough momentum over the waves.

I took my time in transition. The new triathlon shoes definitely helped smooth my transition. The wetsuit came off pretty easy. Managed to squeeze down one gel. Got a few feet from my rack and then had to go back for my gloves. Walked out of transition to catch my breath.

Remember my gloves!

I got off to a good start on the bike. The first section out of transition is a set of brick pavers and it is bumpy. I looked down and realized the velcro on my aero bottle had shaken loose and my yellow sponge popped out, I revelcroed. Tried to settle in to a good pace and not over do it. Weaving through the streets of downtown St Petersburg I lost my water bottle completely. Slowed my pace after mile 3 trying not to drive myself into total dehydration. Held this relaxed pace until luckily they did have a water stop along the way and I picked up the pace considerable after being restocked. In the last 10 miles I may have overdone it before the run trying to pass everybody. I was pretty thirsty by the end of the bike and had set myself up for a long slow run which ended up being a 10k walk.

Zipp tie my water bottle and yellow sponge to the bike. I managed to lose my sponge in the first 200 meters on some bumpy brick paved streets. I lost my entire water bottle on mile 3 after hitting an unseen pothole. After losing the sponge, almost all the water shook out in the first couple miles anyway. I slowed my pace on the bike considerable thinking I was going to have to go the whole distance without water.

My new Yankz laces really helped me to get a speedy transition from bike to run. My shoes went on like butter and were just the right tightness. Had a good transition, got on my hat, race number, and shoes. Then Oh! forgot to take off my bike gloves.

Forgot to take off my biking gloves and had to run back from the transition exit to my bike at the start of transition next to the pro men & women. Running back I nearly ran down my former Triathlon Instructor Larry who was going the other way with his bike.

After losing my water bottle on the bike, I was thirsty before the run even started. I only made it a mile or so before I had to start walking. My hamstrings/back were cramping up from the bike. I got to the first water station and got three waters, a gatorade, and started to feel a little better. I tried to run several times, but was getting overheated. In the end I was just glad to finish. I may need to rename this the Walk comments.

Tie down my water bottle on the bike with zip ties, saving dehydration. Pace myself better on the run. During the brief periods I was running I would look down at the GPS and often found myself running a 9:15 pace. About 15 seconds faster than I have ever completed a 10k. I ended up walking a majority of the run and blew past my goal of 3:15 minutes by a large margin. The heat and fatigue factor would probably have gotten to me regardless of anything else I did differently. I should have been able to run an 11 minute pace at least. I need to spend more time doing a bike and then a run. Also need to get more frequent run training rather than one long and one short run each week. I would expect to save at least 12 minutes on the run if I do this race again.

Laid down on a cot in the medical tent. Too tired to stretch. Spent some time hanging out at the NAMSC tent. Had some beans and rice.


Lack of water on the bike.


I had a great and challenging race. It was pretty exciting racing with that many people in a reasonable well organized event. I'm glad I got an opportunity to face the challenge of a 1500meter open water swim. I had a few mishaps and am pretty sure those will start to happen less often with more experience. I was surprise to see alot of people I knew at the race from work and other random people from Atlanta that I knew. Also saw a number of people from NAMSC while I was out on course.
Overall a good event that I plan to do again.