Started to the right and waited 10s to start, as planned. Biggest of the 3 waves. Some type of anxiety phenomena about 1/3 into it. I had tinted goggles, and the water was murky. Sighting every 4-5 breaths. Then got to feeling uncertain and hesitant, so I did some breast stroke. Tried to restart freestyle several times, but reverted to breast stroke. Did last 50 yds freestyle strong until I could touch the sandy bottom and got out. Out of breath. With all that, I met my goal of finishing the swim in under 9 minutes. Go figure.

Train OWS when possible.

Transition took longer because I ride in my running shoes, so had to rinse/dry feet and put on socks and running shoes, which was the biggest time suck. Still, I practiced ahead of time and it went according to plan. Met goal of under 2 minutes. Toe clips not pedal clips with cleats. Set left side crank at 45 degrees and pre-set gears correctly. Came flying out and had an awesome running start. Passed several road bikers who had stopped to mount. :)

Nothing

Very pleased with time. Only broke 17 mph in training once, and that was low 17's. Printout following race showed 17.95 mph.

Got down into "aero" tuck on straightaways in 14th gear. My tire (30mm) is 1-3/8" and Fat Tire category was 1-1/2" so I kept it honest. For comparison, I was under 2 minutes off from fastest "Fat Tire" finisher. Water in bottles tasted bitter for some reason. Usually would have taken a bottle, but maybe drank half.

I was passed by a lot of tri bikes and one or two street bikes. Only passed by one "fat tire" guy on a mountain bike. Probably in my age group. Very pleased.

Took two gels about 10 minutes out from T2. Last couple hundred yards, pulled up on pedals to give running muscles some relief (per Chi Running video).

Not much. Maybe more training in even higher gears and some speed/strength training so I could push it even more. Might even get a slightly fatter tire so I could race in my true category.

Running dismount, as practiced, was awesome. Running shoes were already on, so transition was very quick. Stopped to stretch spine and level pelvis to ready for the run.

Nothing. Very pleased.

After the faster-than-normal bike, legs felt very burnt at first, despite strategies during bike. Legs felt heavy. Just kept moving. Some comisertating with other runner! :) Then, after a mile or so, legs started loosening up, and I picked up the pace. I passed a handful of runners on first loop. Water at both stations. Second loop, as planned, I picked up the pace and focused on good form and moving legs faster. Last 1/2 mile picked up pace and skipped water. Last 1/4 mile or so, I sprinted. Passed 6-9 runners, including some of the road speedsters who passed me on the bike! Felt great coming across the finish line. Got high 5s from son on the run. Heard wife and kids cheering for me at each pass by the spectator area. Was thrilling!

Run goal has 8 min/mile, but with that bike split, it was hard to go faster the first loop.

Work on the bike-to-run transitions more in training.

Snacks. Reunion with family.


Hard bike. However, if I had backed off on bike and ran at my goal pace of 8 min/mile, overall time would have been slower.


Multirace was very professional. A couple of the bike racks were poorly assembled, and they were right out to fix them. Very clear communication and helpfulness.