St. Anthony's Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Well, last year this was a disaster for me. I swam from kayak to surfer to buoy the entire way! This year was a different story! I'm a much better, confident swimmer with little open water experience - what a combination! . But it was still an adventure with the choppy water conditions. The first 300 meters went okay, but I felt like I was going nowhere quickly. I did stop for a brief moment somewhere near the 200 meter bouy but this was brief. Once I got near the 300 meter bouy, I was completely out of breath and anxious. I was sighting about every 5 to 7 strokes to avoid swimming 2500 meters. I was swimming a little too fast so I stopped and motioned a kayak over to catch my breath. This is where the next wave passed me and I knew I had to get moving. I really don't know why I did this since I was wearing a wetsuit.

I then decided to get on with the swim and move on. I got the the 4th bouy and realized I was doing okay but it felt like I was swimming and getting no-where. After passing this bouy, I couldn't see the turn(yellow) bouy and asked the kayak guy. Where's the bouy?, I'm lost, and he said it's right in front of you. I then yelled again where the F**K is the bouy? to which he said "right in front of you." I then started to get passed again by some more swimmers. So I moved over a little bit and realized the the bouy was being hiddden by the sun and directly in front of a big White Boat so the two blended together very nicely. Once I made the turn, it was time to get moving.

I did okay until the waves started to crash into my face as I was trying to breath. I must learn Bi-lateral breathing to avoid this in the future. I drank a good portion of the ocean so I stopped again and waved another kayak over but he wanted me to swim to him. So I said to myself "hell no - swim Rivi!" Once I reached the 8th bouy, I had drank some more ocaen water. I then motioned Beverly (a kayak lifeguard) over for a short break (Obviously since I know her name, we had a brief introduction of sorts). This was a very short break ater looking at the watch and not liking what I saw. Once I made it the the second turn (yellow) bouy all I could think of was "swim to the bike, swim to the bike". I kept looking at the Big Blow-up Gatorade bottle, it would get closer with each stroke and then get further away with each following stroke. The current wasn't helping at all going in. I just kept saying "get to the bike". The last 100 meters felt like forever but I reached the steps and got out of the water.

I could hear Anica yelling "that's my Ironman". Once I made it to the top of the steps, I took off my cap and goggles and started to transition. I grabbed a quick cup of water from the volunteer.

I can swim in the pool, I just need more open water swims and things will get better. I also need to find a different stroke and learn to bi-lateral breath.

This was crazy, I felt motion sickness. When I reached down to pull the wet-suit off my heels I got dizzy. I had to stop and grab the bike rack to stay on my feet. I finally got it off, and almost fell again putting on my socks, I again had to grab the bike rack. I was disappointed to see that there was only two bikes on the rack near me. I knew I had a lot of ground to cover.

Once I got my bike shoes on, followed by the helmet it was off to the bike course. I took a quick sip of water and ran with Nicky to the bike start.

Get a bucket to sit on, that way the blood won't rush to my head and get me dizzy. This was a F'ed up feeling that made me feel like S**t.

Once on the bike it was time to hammer down and make up some ground. I must say I believe I did well on the bike since I was only passed by two other riders.

The plan was to have my aero bottle completely empty by the time I reached the water bottle exchange, this was accomplished with ease. I also took a GU, 10 minutes into the ride and this was followed by 2 Shot block prior to the 30 minute mark. I also drank every time I looked at the straw. I wanted to make sure that I hydrated properly on the bike since last year my run was slower than my bike.

At times, I would look at my speed and I was doing 25 and 26 MPH. This got me a little worried because I was concerned about the run. It was cool to pass people on the left like crazy, I was rolling on the bike. At times, I probably slowed down just because of the unknown. Once I hit the home stretch, I made sure I took another 2 Shot block just before mile 23 and continued to drink on the bike. Once I reached the brick road, I thought about getting my feet out of the shoes and pedaling but I just hammered it to the dismount line.

Push harder on the bike and get an average of 24 MPH on the bike. Learn how to get out of the shoes while rolling for a faster dismount.

This went well as planned, get in and out of transition.

Put my feet in the shoes while taking off my helmet and put on my racebelt while running.

Once on the run, I took water and Gatorade right out of the bike exit. The first mile felt really good, I felt strong. Once I reached the first water stop it was one of each for me and 2 waters over my head to stay cool.

The 2 mile marker felt like it was far away but I kept going at my pace. This is where I got passed by a 79 year old triathlete, we talked for a few and off he went. I then passed a guy who said "I've just been passed by a 79 year old man." I told him he's probably been in this sport before you were born, this happened as I passed him also. I continued my goal of passing folks as I moved on. I also kept with the same routine at the water stops.

The turn around just showed up out of no-where and I was feeling good. Once I reached the 4 mile marker, I knew if I wanted to break 3 hours I had to step it up to sub 8:45 minute miles. I felt I could do that but I was worried about the final mile in the sun with no shade and no water stops. I really wanted the sub 3 hours but I also wanted to finish feeling good about my run. I decided to play it safe and maintain my pace since I was feeling good about myself. This decision was also motivated by the memories of last year and watching several triathletes walking already.

Once I reached the bridge, I knew it was going to be a good day for me. The last mile I still felt strong and had a strong finish at the end. I was only passed by 7 runners on the run and I caught the 79 year old triathlete just before mile 4, so I was really only passed by 6 runners.

Trust myself and push it to the limit. Although, I had a good run I probably could've pushed a little harder.

I crossed the finsh line, got my medal, and the coolest part is the ice cold towel. I then grabbed several bottles of Gatorade and water to hydrate. I met up with Anica for a finish picture with my towels. I then exited the finsih area and met up with RT and some NAMC members. I then stood around and watched a few fellow GFA members (Amy and Annie) finish along with the Aimster shortly thereafter.


The unknown on the run especially considering last year's experience. I should've just done it since I'm a much stronger runner now.


This is an awesome race that is well organized. I will return next year to break/crush that sub 3 hour mark.