For some reason, I couldn't get my breathing in sync on this swim. It should have been an easy swim because the water was calm, it wasn't crowded and the current was minimal. I know I've got the stamina and training to make this swim with continuous freestyle, so it was all in my head. The race director assured us the water was clean and the tested bacteria levels were minimal, but there seemed to be a metallic taste/smell to the water. I guess you'll have this with a big city river. I wasn't glowing when I came into T1 so no worries.

I have got to concentrate more before the start and visualize myself making strong strokes and steady breathing for the whole swim. Gotta see the race I want to have before I do it. If youv'e prepared, it's all mental on race day.

Not too bad here. Decided to leave my shoes on my bike instead of trying to run in them to the mount area. Worked out well. Need to practice sprinting out of the water to the bike instead of walking, then running. The man made sandy beach coming out of the water was tough to run on though.

Use bodyglide to be able to strip my wetsuit faster.

I felt like I had a great ride, and performed up to my current training level. My strong point on the bike is climbing where I routinely passed 5-7 people on each hill. I guess it's where I train- we have huge hills which I have to ride every time to get anywhere. The best part was when the first loop circled back by the transition area where there were hordes of spectators cheering you on like it was the TDF. The area leading to the spectator area was a long downhill, so you came flying through the crowd topping 30 mph, and of course you had to be on the aerobars hammering like hell! I felt like Lance! The ride also took you past the Philadelphia Museum of Art (the steps they filmed Rocky on) which was impressive in itself (not the Rocky part, but the museum). I fely like I paced myself well and hammered when I could and was conservative where I needed to be.

Not much. Maybe one day invest in a better bike. My Cannondale Ironman 600 is Ok, but it's an entry level tri bike. Derailleurs are what dislike the most, especially the front Tiagra.

Coming back on the second loop of the ride, you stayed right to dismount. (stay left to continue on your second loop) I knew I wanted to dismount with my feet out of my shoes, so I unstrapped my right and got out, but for some reason twisted out of my left. So, here I am with my right foot in sock and left in shoe off the bike. I said a few choice words then took off my shoe and carried it to the transition like a moron. ugh. Once in the transition area, I had some trouble with bike next to me falling over because I don't think he racked it properly. I had to take the time to set his bike up (because it was falling on me) and then mine. This probably cost me 30 seconds, but those are the breaks.

I think I'm going to try biking and running barefoot because socks take too long to put on whether before the bike or the run. I'm also getting speed laces. Other than that, just move faster.

By now it was getting to be 9:30 and it was getting hot and humid ! Got off the bike and actually felt good. My legs weren't to wobbly and I settled into a slow but steady pace with the intention of picking it up once I got going. Once I felt into it, I started to pick it up, but I had trouble keeping my heart rate below 160 (about 90% for me) I don't know if it was the heat or what, but I felt good otherwise. Continuing onto miles 3, 4 ad 5 it started to get damn hot. The run course followed the river so it was pretty flat, but by now we were in the sun on concrete. I had to walk at two water stations to bring my heart down some. (I guess I need more hot weather training) I drank what I could but most of it went on me instead of in me. Mile 5-6 I was getting really hot and I had to slow my pace down well below what I'm capable of running for fear of having a cardiac arrest. The finish line approached and cranked it up to make a strong showing because there were about 3,000 people watching.

Need to train more in the heat. Usually, in cooler weather, I can run 7-1/2 minute miles and maintain a heart rate of 140-150. (70-80%) Why can't I drink at the water stops without pouring it all over me?

Ate some bananas and drank lots of water. Walked arund and soaked up the atmosphere.


Acclimation to heat. Get into my head before starting swim.


This was an excellent event! Well organized- you would never guess this was their first one. Great post race celebration. Free post race massages (which I didn't do) Tons of food and drink. Finishers medal. Great DJ. Great crowd. I didn't like the HEED drink that sponsered the race, would have preffered Gatorade, but that's just me. Transition area was very secure, someone actually checked bike numbers to your number as you left. This race will be very popular in the years to come, so if you want to do it, sign up early. Registration starts Nov 1 for next year. Only thing I would change- make the swim start at the transition area instead of up river, so the spectators can watch. (it was supposed to be a loop swim but was changed for logistical reasons, so maybe this isn't possible) Overall though- excellent big time race.