Okay. I knew this was going to be ugly. I did not train NEAR enough for the swim. I swam the crawl for the first 100m and then switched to side stroke and my back.

Be able to swim crawl for at least 500 meters. Train a LOT more.

Took my time during T1 to catch my breath. The Sprint racks were way at the back so we had to take our bikes all the way around the HIM racks to the mount/dismount line. At least a minute of my T1 time was spent getting my bike there.

About a quarter of the way up the huge hill right out of transition, my chain came off. I didn't have time to unclip and I fell over. I walked the bike to the top of the hill, put the chain back on and kept going. Half a mile later, while climbing the next hill, my chain came off again. This time I had time to unclip and caught myself. I walked up the hill again, put my chain back on and went on my way. The rest of the bike went well. On the last hill, I didn't want to risk the chain coming off again, so I unclipped and walked up.

Make sure my bike is tuned before the race. Train more on the bike. I need to get a faster pace.

Again, I had to walk the bike all the way to the back to my transition area. That adds a good deal of time.

Nothing.

I was actually pretty pleased with my run time, considering I walked some and had to stop to use the port-o-potty. As I was nearing the finish, I heard a woman yell "Good job Simon!" Lo and behold a guy passes me running at a good pace. It was Simon Lessing! Holy crap! I wish I could have picked up the pace some and crossed the line with him. That would have been hilarious.

Have my legs conditioned enough to where I wouldn't have to walk. Be a little tougher mentally and keep telling my body it doesn't need to walk.

Drank water and gatorade and hugged my family.


Poor swim training.
Not enough bike riding.


This was a really great race for my first one and I was so excited when I crossed the finish line. It was also great to see big time pros there, like Natasha Badmann, Andrea Fisher, and Simon Lessing. I had a blast and am now addicted to this sport.