My 1st tri of the season turned into a serious wake up call about the state of my swim training. I arrived later than I had planned. No excuse, just going a little too slow in the morning. Got ready on time and headed to the swim start. I had not been training too seriously in the pool and had done zero open water swims since Sep. Started great. Too great. I am a poor swimmer at best and I was feeling strong and fast so I pushed the pace early. As I approached the 1st turn in the triangular course a swimmer behind me continued to climb over my legs. Once or twice is no problem. This guy wouldn't stop. There was plenty of room on either side and we were still 15 yards or so from the turn. I let him completely throw me off my game. I ended up snorting a large amount of lake water during the process of getting him off me. My heart rate skyrocketed and every time I tried to put my head under water went up my nose and I coughed. This continued for 5 minutes and my swim was wrecked. I gave in to some minor panic but mostly anger at ruining my race. I had some high expectations of a PR and I was doing the breast stroke 300 meters from the swim finish watching the leaders get out of the water. Finally I got myself together and started swimming. 3 minutes slower than last year.

750 M swim plus T1 (with a 300 meter run to transition) - 19:55 (uugghhh)

I had a decent transition and headed out for the hilly bike ride with the attitude that I had a lot of catching up to do and I was going to make up for the poor swim. I felt great and passed a lot of people. At around mile 8 my bike was shaking and rattling like crazy. There were some bumpy sections and my handlebar nuts and bolts were coming loose. On each uphill I would sit up and try to tighten them somewhat with my fingers. Annoying but nothing to slow me down. I was only passed by the lead female racer. She was strong on an extended uphill and I could not match her speed. I was really enjoying myself at this point and the poor swim was forgotten.

17.7 mile bike - 55 minutes 19.4 MPH avg.

The run also went well. Pretty course through some easy trails and over the Beltsville Dam. I felt strong and smooth. 6:40 1st mile and a 7:00 2nd with a decent steep but short uphill section. The course is not a 5K but a 3.5 mile run. The organizers didn't put the 3 mile mark up or I didn't see it. Passed quite a few runners and was passed by the 2nd place female and 1 guy from the 2nd wave.

3.5 mile run in 23:45.

Overall 1:39:55 1 minute slower than last year. 46 out of 470 or so and 8th in age group.

I really need to step up my swim training if I want to be satisfied with my performance, especially in short course tris. I was bothered by it all night and hopefully will channel the frustration into some intense swim workouts instead of going through the motions like I did the past 3 months.