the waves were self selecting. they called wave 1 and if you felt like going you went over the mat and got in. we went for the second wave hoping to find a sweet spot of organized swimming, but not so fast that we couldn't keep up. i thought it was silly at first, but it worked great. it was cool to have everyone we knew in the same wave so you could tell how the race was going and when to expect to see other people.
i wore a wetsuit even though it was really warm. i am a little weary of open water and wearing a wetsuit makes me feel like a super hero and immune to anything in the water. i also sink like a stone and the wetsuit makes me swim ~:20 per 100 faster.
water was supposedly "green" and ok for swimming, but it was the worst water i have swam in yet (other than spots on eagleman near boats that were pure gasoline). it tasted gross, but in the end was pretty clear and seemed fine.

i pin my number to my bike jersey and put it on in t1. it is always a pain and costs me some time. i may need to re-think my strategy. other than that, no issues.

i went pretty hard on the bike. knowing timmy is out there somewhere ahead of me is always good motivation. i never did catch him ont he bike, but i had a better average than i expected. for the first few miles i couldn't believe how fast i was going (25+) unitl i realized the computer was on max speed and not average speed. i had a gu a few miles in and another with a few miles to go to prepare for the run. i only took 1 water bottle since it was a short distance and i could have drank 2.

have another water bottle.

much better than t1. racked the bike and started chasing tim.

i have stopped taking my shoes off on the bike. i can do it pretty well, but it doesn't save me a whole lot of time and i don't want to star the run with a pebble stuck to my sock.

had another good run. i caught tim at mile 1 and kept up a fast pace. i couldn't have gone any faster and couldn't have held it for much longer, but i made it.
the finish was kind of blind and as i approached i was ~10 yards behind the guy in front. i picked up the pace and a spectator started yelling "you can get him, i believe in you!" when i pulled even he broke into a sprint and came in at full speed shoulder to shoulder with everyone cheering. it was really cool and so close i wish i had a photo at the line to know who won. we shook hands as we panted in the finish chute.
i usually one of the few who sprint out the finish, but this race was different. i don't know if it something about philly or what, but there were tons of people sprinting to the line and many racing neck and neck like i did. lots of fun to watch.

nothing.

talked to my sister and nephew (it was so cool to have them there) and cheered others at the finish. drank some water and finally ate some trail mix and pretzels. i should have stretched more.


nothing really. that's as good as i'll get without dedicated swim coaching or plenty more training.


tough to rate this race. there was nothing flashy about it and they did things very differently than others, but in the end they did all the important things right.
there were no real sponsors, so the goodie bag was a paper sack with no samples or flyers or anything. there was no body marking and they wrote your number on the back of both hands at packet-pickup (i thought i was on candid camera when they started doing it). there were no real perks for how expensive the race was.
on the other hand, all the important things were taken care of. it went off on time, the course was excellent, clearly marked, and scenic. shortest bathroom lines i've seen at any race. transition area was clean and set up perfectly (as easy as this seems, i'm amazed that a lot of races screw this up). there were water stations every mile on the run and the results were posted immediately after the event.
bottom line, if you are in the area or have a few extra bucks and don't need a bunch of free crap, it's a good race. if you are racing on a budget, really sensitive to crap water and want a lot of perks, pick something else.