I started wide, but I was in the front line for once. I was using brand new goggles that I decided are only for open water (my pool goggles get foggy). I had no fog problems, so I navigated very well. The only turn was a 180-degree right turn, and I had someone on my right side for the whole first half. When it was time to make the turn, I was slightly ahead of him but he wasn't turning. I waited another stroke to see if he would do it, but he didn't. So, as much as I hate to do this, I turned sharply and cut him off. He ran into my legs and probably thought I was pulling a dirty trick, especially since I gapped him for the second half of the swim. So, if he reads this, I'm sorry.

I didn't draft anyone at all during this race.

Such a short swim usually involves an all-out effort, but mentally I wasn't feeling it. I held back a little so it wasn't a full sprint, but it was still a good steady pace with good rolling and catching. The people 1st and 2nd out of the water were both about 20 yards ahead of me at the end.

Start on the inside and push harder. I generally don't agree with the "you can't win the race in the swim but you can lose it," so I like to push the swim as hard as possible.

This went a little worse than planned. I started taking off my wetsuit a little late, and the run to T1 was short, so when I got to my bike I hadn't removed the top half of my suit. Then it got stuck on one of my ankles. Then I bent down to put my bike shoes on and I got real dizzy. At least I know now that it's a bad idea to invert the head after swimming. Getting the helmet on and getting on the bike went fine.

I was going for a top 3 finish in this race, so I was hoping for a speedy T1. One person that I knew I had to beat (based on prerace scoping of the other athletes) was second out of the swim, and I started the bike about 200 yards behind him. I was closer to him than I thought I should have been, so he must have had a slow T1 (although he quickly built a more considerable lead on me on the bike). I was either 4th or 5th overall when I started the bike.

Keep my head above my heart always. The wetsuit sticking on the ankle is just bad luck.

We had a tailwind going out and a strong headwind coming back. My goal in the bike was to maintain the space between myself and the two riders I could see ahead of me, and then catch them on the run. Me and the guy just ahead of me caught and passed the third rider within the first 4 miles, and then I didn't pass or get passed again. The guy just ahead of me built his lead to about 400 yards over the first half of the bike course, and I felt pretty good about staying so close to him. My speed was high, often around 24 mph.

I was looking forward to the turnaround so I could see exactly how many other riders were still ahead of me as they came back. I saw one biker way ahead of the guy in front of me, but that's it. So I was third, I thought.

The trip back was much worse than the first half. The wind became a headwind, and the already rough road seemed much rougher. I was watching my arms jiggle in the aerobars. The guy ahead of me seemed to handle the headwind much better than I did, and he continued to build his lead. The hardest part was that I couldn't find just the right gear for the conditions. I either had to spin a gear that was too easy (which would slow me down) or mash a gear that was too hard (which would make it harder to run afterward). I mostly chose the easier gear. The second half of the bike was very discouraging, and I didn't have much mental strength. The rider ahead of me just kept increasing his lead until it seemed like almost 2 minutes, and I thought it would be too much to overcome. I was in 3rd place, so I felt resigned to accept my fate and just make sure no one passed me. 1st place was off the table because the leader was very far ahead, and there isn't much difference between 2nd and 3rd. You still get on the podium, right? Plus, I still didn't have confidence in my ability to work on such little sleep. My speed had dropped to 18 mph, and I was mostly in damage-control mode. I finished the bike trying to leave a little bit in my legs, and my overall speed was slower than the last time I rode this course (I do attribute the slowness to the lack of sleep).

When I was nearing the transition, I saw the leader running out. He was still way ahead and had quads the size of my torso. So, he's gone, I thought. I expected to see the guy ahead of me come out next, but he didn't. Some other guy popped out of T2 first, and then the guy ahead of me came out several seconds later. I was very upset, because that meant I was 4th instead of 3rd! I was no longer willing to accept my position in the race, because I really wanted a top 3 spot. I turned into T2 happy to be out of that headwind and determined to catch one of the runners.

I need to put my 10-speed cassette on the wheel instead of the 9-speed one I have. The missing gear seems to be the one that I want!

I was using brand new Zoot Ultra shoes. The ones with speed laces built it, meant to be used barefoot. They were totally untested, especially barefoot, so maybe they weren't the best choice.

The transition went reasonably well. I got my bike helmet off and my shoes on easily. I started to run away but then ran back to grab a gel off my bike. Then I started to run away but realized I hadn't tightened my shoelaces. So I bent down and did that and was on my way.

If I practiced with the shoes beforehand I would have gained a couple seconds. Incidentally they still felt quite snug without a shoelaces tightened.

I ate a gel and then shifted my focus to the runners ahead of me, who had at least a one-minute lead. I had no trouble finding my running legs this time. I won't bore the reader with the nerdy complexities of my strategy, suffice it to say that my goal was to catch at least one of the runners by the two-mile mark. I didn't want it to come down to a finish-line sprint because it's been a while since I have done one of those. I gradually closed the gap, and at the turnaround point (1.5 miles) the two people ahead of me were running together and had just 200 yards on me. There's an aid station right at the turnaround, and they both took water--but then one of them slowed a little down to drink it. A-ha! A sign of weakness! I knew that guy wouldn't be able to fight me off.

I picked up the pace a little on the way back, because I was feeling good about my stride and I felt I could definitely get to 3rd place. I had been watching the other runners' strides and I thought they had a lower cadence than me (see, these are the nerdy things I think about when trying to decide if I can catch someone). The runners ahead of me were no longer running together. One of them (the guy that had slowed down at the aid station) fell back, and I caught him at about 2 miles. But I wasn't concerned with him anymore. I wanted 2nd place--not 3rd. The guy I had to beat was the same person that led me on the bike, and he was now about 100 yards ahead of me. He kept looking back to check on my position, so I knew he had a little bit of fight left in him (the people that will let you pass with no problem never look back). I caught him with about 1/2 mile to go, and I surged in order to try to keep him from trying to stay with me. I didn't look back until later, so I don't know if it worked. In the end I beat him by about 100 yards--enough to keep him from trying to kick me down--so I was happy.



Nothing.

I ran the run course again with my friends who were still racing. They started the run around the time that I was finishing. It was their first race, so it was fun to be able to chat with them and bring them in. I didn't stretch or eat very much after the race, but I did hop in the freezing pond for a nice ice bath for my muscles.

Looking back, the 3rd guy I saw on the run course might not have been in my race. They were doing a duathlon at the same time as the triathlon, so he probably was part of that. This would explain why I didn't notice him on the bike course. I'm glad I didn't realize this at the time, because my thinking that I was in 4th place gave me a little fire in my belly, which I needed.

My overall time was about 25 seconds slower than the last time I did this course, and my run was almost a minute slower than before (that's huge for a 3-mile course). I think these definitely reflect my poor preparation and lack of sleep, but fortunately those factors turned out to be moot in the end. 2nd place was the best result I could ever hope for, because even with perfect preparation I never would have caught the leader, who finished in 59 minutes.


Lack of sleep.


This race is a nice low-key event that starts pretty late (10:00 am). The race organizers are a family that put the race on just because they like triathlons. I highly recommend it.