I did the Reeds Lake Triathlon in East Grand Rapids, MI on Sept. 9. This was the second time that I have done this race. It was an experience. I'll spare all the details, but want to pass along the following:

1. if there's a chance of rain, bring a garbage bag or some plastic to cover your shoes in T1 and T2 --I did and the guy next to me did not --his sneakers and cycling shoes were soaked when he put them on, mine were nice and dry.

2. if you have any inkling (sp?) that your goggles might malfunction, go with your gut and use the back-up pair of goggles you packed in your bag. I had the inkling, ignored that inkling and, sure enough, 45 seconds into the swim, the right goggle would not seal, the goggle filled with water and my freestyle pace and focus was broken (I basically breast-stroked the 1/2 mi. swim b/c the goggle only filled half-way with water when breastroking vs. when doing freestyle, it filled completely).

3. if you wear contacts, bring a spare pair just in case your goggles don't seal, water gets into your goggle and as you empty the water out of the goggle, you lose your contact! Yup, that was me. I had the spare and put it in in T1. Glad I planned ahead.

4. Remember to have fun. I eventually shook off the swim issues (probably at mile 10 of the bike) and then said, "I'm young, I'm active, I'm doing my fourth race, Hah, this is fun."

All in all, I beat my time in this race last year. My bike, which I thought was crap, turned out to be the best time for me ever.

My swim was my second best time, but 2:30 slower than my other race this year that was in July!

My run, need to do speed work. I dread it, but it will help my pace.

On to next year. Already have the map for at least one OLY, 2 sprints, and maybe another OLY.

Thanks guys for all the advice. Awesome board.
:)