Felt a bit stiff for the first probably 500 meters of the swim. I tried to dabble in drafting a bit, and did so for maybe ten seconds at a time, but mainly was just trying to hone in on my technique to keep it as efficient as possible. I wanted to push it a bit more in the swim, but it took me nearly 1/3 of the course to find a comfortable rhythm. I started to feel solid about 1/2 way through the swim. I exited the water, passed 3 people on the 100 yard run up the beach, and then dove back in for lap 2. They were starting some sprint distance waves right at that time, so I found myself in a crowd again with more bumping and jockeying, but soon found clean water.

Maybe cut the sleeves of my suit off. They felt a little restrictive.

Came in with few others, and changed as quickly as I could. I had a bit of an issue drying my feet off after rinsing them with water. My towel had some sand on it, and I was trying to rub that off my feet.
I pulled bike shorts over my tri shorts for the ride.

Make sure my towel is clean, and get used to doing longer rides in tri shorts instead of bike shorts.

I did my first-ever Oly on this course back in June on an MTB (it took me 2 hours then!) and had forgotten about all the hills! Probably 4 solid climbs on this ride, and one long, screaming downhill that we had to do all 3 laps of. I tend to sketch out when going fast on my bike. I have too many fears of blowing tires, having cars pull out in front of me, etc., so when I got up to 37.5mph going downhill, I felt the need to check my speed a bit, which allowed the bolder riders to pass me. I got 'em back on the uphills most of the time, but not always. I was really pushing up the hills..out of the saddle on the steepest ones, and spinning seated in the moderate ones.
In the last 5 miles of the bike, a guy and I exchanged leads alot, and I would get him on the uphills. On the very last hill in the last mile or so, I was ahead of him by about 50 meters, and I dropped my chain going from the middle to the small ring and quickly hopped off to put it back on as he passed me. I started jamming and caught up to him and passed him on the hill and beat him into tranny. That was a nice personal victory.
Did well with Gatorade and water on the bike with a gel 5 miles from the finish of the bike.

Get better gears that don't drop my chain, and someday ride with better tires. I use Specialized Armadillos which are heavy and not great for racing, but I hate getting flats, and those tires have been a gem in that department! That's why I got them! I am not a fast cyclist, so I have work to do in that department.

Did everything quickly and efficiently.

Nothing

My personal best 10K for sure. First time I've ever run sub-8 minute miles for this distance, training or racing! To do it on a course like this with hills, dirt, etc. makes me think the course was a bit short possibly...either that or I was kicking ass (for my abilities). Started the first two miles with the legs feeling like plenty of LA buildup, but I know from my training that I can usually shake that off by the 3rd mile, and that was the case here. I used a Fuel Belt and dumped aid station water on my head to cool off while drinking Gatorade Endurance and water from my Fuel Belt. About halfway through the run, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and started to hunt people down that were in front of me. I managed to pass about 3 guys in the last 3 miles by increasing my foot speed. I wanted to finish the race spent, and did my best to push it to the limit for that last 3 miles.

Nothing.

Just walked around and got a PBJ sandwich, some water, and a banana that they were giving out. Went to transition and packed it up, loaded up the van and went back down for the awards. I was at the event alone as my wife plays field hockey on Sunday mornings. As it turns out, I got a 3rd place medal (out of 7 in my AG, not a major deal), but I was stoked that in my last triathlon in my first season of racing, I finally had a "podium" finish. A small but proud moment for me. Met some great folks at this race too.


Really think my bike speed is a limiter for me. I'm not fast. My bike isn't the lightest either. More training.


This was a low-key, small event...not one of these highly-produced epics. No timing chips, no security, etc., but a nice "down-home, grassroots" feel to it. The venue is beautiful and the course is quite challenging with all the elements in it. Hills, flats, etc. Used pretty much all my gears on the bike! A fun race to finish my season! Can't wait for '06!