This was my first triathlon (my 3rd tri) where I didn't panic in the water. I took my time and tried to keep a steady breathing pattern. If I get choked or out of breath early, I start getting scared and hyperventilating. I've always had a fear of water, so my main goal of the day was to get through the swim comfortably.

Nothing. For this race, I just wanted to gain some confidence in the water. Speed was not an issue.

Didn't realize T1 was so slow. Will definitely be working on that for my next tri in four weeks.

Probably not put on shirt and no socks.

My overall rank is with other beginners only (men & women). My age group rank is by all females 30-34. I was disappointed with my bike time. I ride this course twice a week every week and average close to 22 mph (with drafting, but I do my share of pulls). My legs felt tired the first 4-5 miles.

I probably would have used smaller gears on the first few miles until my legs felt better. I will learn to use aero bars now.

Too slow. Needs work.

Use race belt instead of shirt. Maybe try running without socks. Those socks really take some time to get on, especially coming out of the water.

Again, this overall rank is men & women beginners, all ages. My legs felt OK on the run, but I couldn't catch my breath. I'm going to blame part of that on the humidity.

I would practice running hard right after biking more.

SLOW transitions, and fear of the water.


I beat my race time last year by about 13 minutes, so I'm happy about that. I beat last year's time in every event. Transitions were probably about the same. I do feel like my next race (which is a shorter swim) I can push harder in the swim, now that I have more confidence. Mountain Lakes is a great sprint triathlon. Last year, Mountain Lakes was my first tri, so I was able to enjoy the race much more this year.