Wow! What a difference a year makes! Over 2 minutes off my swim time. First 100 was aggressive, but swallowed some water, so I got passed before starting lap 3. By the end, I had passed back one of the two folks that passed me.

I'm torn between wanting to start aggressively and then settle in vs. starting in a calm pace and picking up. No sense in warming up over an hour before swim time, so that wouldn't help me. Have to think about this...although I should probably just get over it and start doing tris with OWS. Oh, wait - I'm doing one at the end of the month. ;)

Last year: 2:51 (but I was putting on running shoes, not bike shoes)

Good enough T1. It's a fair run from the back of the pool to the T zone.

I'm happy with it. ;)

Awesome bike ride. Had a nemesis (who I don't know) out on the course that pushed me. She passed me early but didn't disappear, so I stayed on her like white on rice. :) I passed her twice near the end of the bike, but she passed me back both times. That's OK, I killed her on the run. Ha!

No really, it was nice to have someone to chase. Plus, holy carp! I averaged over 18mph on the bike. That's a new one for me. Maybe I need to be riding harder when I train.

In my head, I kept thinking about this being "my race route" and that I "must defend this house" - yeah, I'm a dork.

Nothing really. I drank well on the bike. I charged hills. I may have slowed down to corner a little more than I would want to, but the intersections are a little rocky. Maybe next year.

Last year = 0:48 (but no shoe change)

Grabbed a gu, put on the race belt, and headed out. Felt really good.

Again, I'm really happy...

Good stuff. The run was a little short, but even if it was the right distance, this would be a 5K PR for me. Sub-9s in a tri! ROCK ON! I'm so flipping happy. Most of the folks on the run course with me were in the 200's of race numbers...I was 316 (and we started seeded by number) - so my bike was strong and my run was even stronger. Plus I really (mostly) enjoyed the run. This was in "my house" too - I run a part of this route nearly every outing.

I was getting a little mental on the run, though - alternating between "defending my house" and "I need to rest" and "you can rest when you're dead." :) The pace felt good. I didn't feel like I was struggling, but I did feel like I was giving it what I had left.

Run harder? Give it more than what I have left? I don't know - I'm jazzed!

Met by the world's cutest fan club at the finish line. And since I wasn't last in the pool (like last year), I actually had time to pack up my stuff and relax a bit. (Oh, and it wasn't raining, so noone was in such a hurry to get out of there.) Introduced myself to the person I passed on the bike with a BT temporary tattoo (Noony) and her husband (Jimbo). Ate some pizza. Hung out for some of the awards - it's a long way to 3rd place in my AG, but it's not inconceivable. If I keep working hard at this. ;)


Nothing. I ROCKED this race. I'm sooooo excited.


I have a love-hate relationship with Richmond Multisports. They put on good events, but they have some serious problems. For example, we were seeded by race number (which we picked up on Saturday)...how hard would it be to tell us our swim time then? Why did I have to wait until Sunday morning to find out that #316 would hit the water at 8:18:30??? And get a working megaphone, for God's sake. And don't give out the door prizes based on arcane knowledge that only folks that have been part of the Richmond Tri-Club forever would know.

Oh, and measure the run right. :)

But other than that, the race itself is well done.