This was the swim of my life! Everything just clicked. The start was a bit crazy: lots of bumping. I did catch a foot to the face one time but managed to recover and keep going. After the 3rd turn, I looked up and found myself in the middle of the previous wave. I didn't get a good look at my watch until I was out of the canyon on the bike. I knew at that point I had a really good swim.

Maybe try to start closer to the front of the pack. I think most of the Olympian swimmers would pull away quickly and it would be easier to find a draft or open water more quickly without needing to swim around the whole pack.

Not a bad transition. It was nice to have carpet all the way down to the transition.

Maybe practice with the wetsuit to see if I could get back one minute or so.

Hills. Wow, I underestimated this bike course. I have never completed anything that difficult. The hills and flats in the first 15 miles were not a problem. By the time we got to the winding climbs I was starting to get pretty tired. One guy in transition told me that I should concentrate on hydration, so that's what I did. It helped me get through this course.

My gearing has been acting up ever since I got my bike back from the LBS. It just won't shift right. I spent a lot of time screwing with the gears during the ride - an annoyance and it probably cost me some time but, I made it through fine.

This course had everything. Hills, flats, wind. It was really beautiful. Mile 40 the wind started and so did the cussing. :-) It felt great to finish this bike. I felt really good about my speed considering the difficulty.

Train on hills. I think this race gave me some confidence to go out and find some hilly training grounds.

My feet were toast after the ride. Not sure why, but they just really ached. It felt really good to be off the bike.

I need to work on getting out of the shoes on the bike and running in my bare feet.

The run course was beautiful as well. I think the first 3 miles (around the lake) were a reward for finishing the bike. I met up with a cool guy for about a mile or so and we talked about the bike course. His pace was a little faster than mine and he took off after a few minutes of nice conversation.

I decided to take a cautious approach on the run. My first goal was to finish and if I failed it would have been on the run. I walked through each aid station and only ran 3/4 of each hill. I was really worried about my back acting up or getting dehydrated on the course. I would guess I gave up at least 17 - 20 minutes in walking time during the run.

The turnaround was a great moment for me. Mentally I knew I would finish. That was such a boost after the long flat in the baking sun. Did anyone else hear the buzzing powerlines overhead??!?

The aid station at mile 4 / 9 was the best on the course. I really liked climbing the hill after mile 9 and the descent into the canyon afterward. At the bottom of the hill you could hear the announcer at the finish and there was a great reward lap around the lake to bring you home. The shade was a welcome relief from the sun.

I think I could have gone much harder on the run. Looking back I probably should have modified my plan to walk at every other aid station. This would have given me a sub 6:30 finish.

I walked around a little, tried to get a massage, packed up and left for the hotel.


Fear. Turns out I was pretty afraid of the distance- especially the run. I think I was too conservative on the run and next time I will go much harder.


This was an amazing experience for me. I'll definately do this race again.