i went to a local city park with a pool and swam laps for months leading up to the race and i was an absolute monster on the bike at the time. for the run i just went trail running on my favorite hikes around here. apparently nobody decided to tell me swimming in choppy, dark open water is much more difficult than lap pool swimming.

the group i was in was 'first time' racers so i wasnt in an age group or anything - and those dudes were waaaay ahead of me in the race by the time I got on the bike I barely caught 2 guys. we swam in Tempe Town Lake, which is a digusting cess-pool. i'll never forget, after the bike session i started the run and a mile into the run i grabbed a water cup, doused it over my head, and the lake-water that was still stuck in my hair dripped into my mouth and i threw up on the spot. gave me a bit of a boost tho, i didnt have to stop for rest on the run once but i didnt have a phenomenally fast run time either.

the tri was a blast tho, felt really good after it. that satiated my urge to do a tri, i had visions of doing an ironman but yeah fucking right.