Decent swim. I passed 1 person in the middle of the lane about 1/2 way through the swim. The guy behind me caught me on the last 50m, so I pulled to the side on the last turn to let him pass.

This was a good solid swim considering how little I've been training.

This transition went pretty smoothly. My time was the 4/31 in my AG, and 31/138 overall.

Nothing.

I rode as hard as I could for my fitness level. My calves threatened to cramp a few times, making me concerned that I was pushing to hard, so I backed off just a little bit.

I passed my son about 3 or 4 miles into the ride (He was seeded 17th for the swim opposed to my 29th seeding). Later in the bike, I also passed 2 of my other TNT teammates, Bob & Kayla.

I wouldn't do anything differently during the race, but I could have gone faster if I had been able to get in the training I had planned.

This transition went ok too. My time for it was 7/31 in my AG and 41/148 overall.

Nothing.

Normally, the temperature has warmed up by the time of the run at this race, but today, it was overcast, and it was still in the low-50's during the run. I skipped a drink at the turnaround. My legs were fried by this point, and kept threatening to cramp during the entire run. I kept riding the edge of pushing too hard, and was able to keep the cramps at bay. I could not have gone any faster on this day with my current fitness level.

Nothing.

I drank a bottle of water, then hung out at the finish line to cheer on my teammates as they finished, and was able to be there when my son finished a few minutes after I did. Then I walked around a little to keep from tightening up too badly.


Fitness. Going into this race, I knew if I wanted to podium, I'd have to finish in under 1:20. Because of various commitments, I haven't been able to train the way I had planned, so I didn't think I'd be able to go fast enough. In the end I was right, because 3rd place finished at 1:19:44, almost exactly 2 1/2 minutes faster than my time. I think if I had been able to do the training that I planned, I could have easily cut this amount off my time. Well, there's always next year!


This race is organized by the Hempfield Triathlon Club. They do an excellent job. This is a fantastic early season race whether it's your first race ever, or your first race of the season to blow out the cobwebs.