Last Sunday I did the Portland Triathlon. I got my best finish ever in a tri, and had a lot of fun doing it! (By the way, this was a sprint)

I arrived at the race an hour after the transition area opened, and an hour before the race started. Miraculously I got a prime spot on the racks, right by the exit to bike mount/dismount. At this point I was feeling good, and ready to race.

SWIM: I came out of the swim the first in my wave even though I swam fairly slow. (11:32)

T1: I felt that I had a fast T1, despite the long run to the transition area. I've found a new technique in transition that works well for me. I take my wetsuit off ASAP after getting out of the water, that way it is easier to take off the wetsuit, and you can finish the rest of the run to the transition area faster. (1:33)

BIKE: The bike was a bit longer than a standard sprint (16.5 miles as opposed to 12.4), and on really chewed up roads so my time suffered a bit. Other than that though I felt good on the bike, so I guess that is what really matters. (50:22)

T2: I executed my bike dismount well and was in and out of T2 quickly, and without problem. (1:06)

RUN: The first mile and a half felt good, but then I started to cramp up at my lower thigh, right above my knee. I was hoping to run under twenty minutes, but with my problems I felt good about my time. (20:17)

My total time was 1:24:52.6, I got 3rd overall and was only 44 seconds off of first. Thank you Tri-ac for the info on the bike course, and thank you all trifuelers for the advice you have given!