We swam about 100-200m straight out from shore before turning to follow the shoreline. At the turn I was around a bunch of swimmers, but right after the turn I found myself alone and could only see one swimmer just off ahead. I thought about surging and trying to catch his feet, but decided to just settle in and figured I'd hook onto one of the other swimmers around me as we went. That was my big tactical mistake because that swimmer only very gradually pulled away from me while no other swimmers ever got close to me. Had I surged, I think there was a good chance that I could have finished right with him with little or no extra overall effort for the swim. That would have saved me almost a full minute.

Otherwise the swim went well and I felt good getting out of the water.

Surge and get those feet!

High-fived Jack on the way to transition while I got my wetsuit down to my waist. Once in T1, got the wetsuit off (still had to use my hands to get it off my ankles, but came off smoothly with that assist). Decided to go sockless today despite never trying it before--do as I say, not as I do ;-). Had a little trouble slipping my heels into the shoe, but overall a fairly uneventful T1.


18th OA T1 time

Get some tri shoes and leave the shoes clipped-in on the bike

Took a couple minutes just to get my shoes tightened, grab a drink and get settled down from T1. Then started hammering.

I caught the 2 guys I had seen in T1 within the first 5 minutes or so. Then I saw nobody for quite awhile. Finally passed the leader coming the other way (turns out this was John Kenny--a national caliber open water swimmer and a not-too-shabby triathlete as well) and by the turn he already had about 4 minutes on me.

Since I didn't realize who it was in front of me, I decided to keep hammering and hope that I could narrow the gap somewhat (but, of course, it only grew). Nobody was around me at all once I passed those 2 early riders so I was truly out on a time trial by myself. Did a pretty good job maintaining my effort and came into T2 still alone in second (on the road, but not on the clock).

Nothing.

Coming into T2, got my feet out of my shoes and hopped off the bike quickly. Ran into transition and heard I was down about 5 minutes. Damn! Hadn't gained anything! Took off my helmet and sunglasses (dumb because I run with the glasses so had to put them back on). Slipped on shoes (went OK even without the socks) and grabbed my visor and race belt. Fussed with the belt a bit as I ran trying to get my number straight--finally realized I had put the number on backwards (facing me instead of out) and gave up.

20th OA T2

Check that the number is on right before the race.

As I headed out, I saw a couple bikers coming in so I wanted to set a solid pace right away. But I quickly realized I was working too hard and had to ease back. Walked through the first aid station just to get a drink and settle myself down. Then tried to establish a solid, but comfortable pace hoping I could pick it up over the second half.

Before hitting the first mile, a runner came flying up on me--way faster than I (turns out this was the 2nd OA athlete who started 3 minutes behind me). Once he had pulled away (not long!), I was totally alone again. It was hard to keep the intensity up as I was hurting and without anybody to chase or hold off, I was left to motivate myself. But that's the way it stayed all the way to the finish.

I crossed as the third finisher, but ended up 8th as there were a couple of faster older (40+) and younger (under 30) guys who started after me.

Push a little harder. Embrace the pain! :-)

Felt a little sick and just tried to rest and cool myself off. Knew I had pushed hard, so that made me feel good.


Tactical error on the swim and ability to self-motivate on the run.


I love this race--the 3rd time I've done it. Small and cheap, with good competition and post-race food. The course is fast and fun. The Bambino Biathlon is great (Jack finished 2nd AG) and there are lots of awards handed out. Hope to be back again.