Started in the back corner to avoid any mayhem. Got a decent start - not too fast, not too slow. Caught some people's feet but no one whacked into me. Tried to get into a good rhythm, but the muddiness of the water made it tough. Had to flip over and do some backstroke a couple times to regroup. On the way back toward shore, the water got pretty choppy from the wave behind us. Nonetheless, I finally got into a good groove for the last 200 yards or so and swam all the way in (unlike some people who started walking out as soon as they could touch the bottom, which was probably 150 yards out). Managed to even beat a few slow stragglers from the wave before us!

Try to ignore everything else and just swim. Ha! Easier said than done, but hopefully the next race's lake won't be so darn muddy. At times it felt like I was swimming through a thick soup!

I was covered in muck from the pond, so it took me a little longer to wipe my feet off than I anticipated. Grabbed helmet and sunglasses, stuffed Shot Bloks pack into my back shirt pocket, and off I went. No bike shoes or clipless pedals, so I just wore my running sneakers (need to get elastic laces!). Mounted the bike fairly cleanly but more or less at a dead stop.

I think it went fairly well, all things considered. (time is approximate - from my watch - official race results included transition times in the total bike

First few miles were tough as it took a bit to get my legs going. At first I wondered how on earth I would make it 15 miles, but once I got moving it got a little easier. Ate 3 shot bloks on the 1st loop, then the other 3 toward the end of the 2nd loop. Drank 3/4 of my water bottle, which was a 50-50 Gatorade & water blend. Got passed by a lot of people, but also passed a few myself. Felt good - could've gone a bit faster but wasn't sure how my legs would react on the run.

Not get off course! I wished I had memorized the turns beforehand, but I also figured I would be following people (which I was, but they were misdirected too!) and that there would be better course control. I also need to get bike shoes and clipless pedals!

Staggered a bit when I got off the bike but quickly collected myself and ran off to my rack. Racked the bike w/o too much trouble. Already had my running shoes on, so just grabbed my race # belt and took off. Grabbed a cup of water on the way out of the transition area. Realized a few minutes into the run that I forgot to put on my running hat, but oh well.

Nothing...doesn't get much faster than that!

I anticipated needing to walk and/or REALLY having a tough time with the run due to my lack of run training and knee/ITB issues. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt! First mile or so was tough - felt slow and legs were tired. After that, though, I felt them start to loosen up a bit and I was able to increase my pace to almost a regular 5K race pace. Stopped and walked through a water station; drank half the cup, dumped the other half over my head. Other than that, I ran the entire way! Didn't overheat too much. 2 or 3 people passed me, but I also passed a few myself. Was able to really kick it in at the end of the run.

Pick up the pace a little earlier (there were no mile markers, nor do I have a Garmin, and I didn't want to look at my watch too much). Oh well! Better safe than sorry for my first race, since my primary goal was just to finish anyway.

Walked around, drank water. Didn't do much else as it had gotten quite warm out by the end of the run and I just wanted to get some food and water in me.


Lack of full training period; however, the purpose of this race for me was just to literally "get my feet wet" in tris and train through it, using this as a barometer for where I should put my focus on the rest of my training for my next tri in August.


Great race for me personally as a first-timer. Other than the bike route fiasco, the race was very well-organized and small enough that I didn't feel overwhelmed. Will definitely do this race again next year if we're still living close enough to make it.