The start was very shallow so I walked for a while. The start wasn't too rough. The first right 90-degree turnw as about 100 yards toward the center of the river. At the turn, though, a competitor to my right was swimming behind me, and his left hand caught my shoulder during he crawl, stroke. He continued to grab my shoulder and pull me back. This startled me, and this ruthless move got me a bit angry, but I let him pass and continued my swim. I got a couple nasty scratches on the right side of my neck and my right shoulder from it, and it was stinging the whole race. The long portion of the swim, upriver, was a bit difficult to sight because there weren't very many orange sight buoys. I maintained a good pace throughout and felt good about the swim afterward. The sun was coming up right over the trees on the last left turn, a left-hand 90-degree turn toward the same beach we started at, and that made the swim finish difficult to see. Again, it was very shallow, so I got on my feet and jogged thru the water when it was about thigh-deep. Not wetsuit legal so I didn't wear one.

Not much I could do differently. Once or twice I stopped freestyle stroke to gather my bearings, and I wiped my goggles a couple times too. If I could avoid these things I could shave a minute or two off my time.

The run up to the transition area was long and I was jogging at an easy pace. This gave me time to picture the transition in my head, and I was nearly flawless in that regard. I put some Gu gels in my back pocket before the swim, and the river took them. I didn't notice til I was on the bike.

I could run at a quicker pace.

I rode sockless, in tri shoes, with my shoes attached to the pedals at transition. I pedals over my shoes for maybe a half mile before putting em on. I need to get better at putting my shoes while riding. I did not attempt jumping on my saddle.

This was an easy, flat course with a few faux flats. I stayed within my comfort zone, hoping to perform better for the run. I began with 3 bottles of Powerade on my bike, and no gels or anything else. Since I forgot my gels, my nutrition was limited to energy drinks. I did not drink any water. With the 3 Powerades, I also grabbed 3 bottles of Gatorade along the ride (stops at 15,30, and 45, approx.). I made it a point to drink every 15 minutes, and I would guess I drank 20 oz. every half hour.

There was a little bit of noise coming from the front end of my bike. I got off my bike at stop 1 (15 mi in) to check it out but couldn't figure it out. I just glued a new tubular the Thus before the race on my front. Other than that, the bike performed and shifted well. No flats, luckily, because I didn't have a Pitstop in my saddle bag.

The liquids I consumed seemed adequate and I liked that it didn't weigh down my stomach. Near mile 45 I was getting some small twitches in my legs, so I'm guessing some electrolyte pills would've helped me here. Other than that, I should inspect my bike better before the race. In hindsight, I could've pushed for maybe a 19mph-19.5mph average.

Jump on saddle at start?

Again, I kept it simple and didn't forget anything this time (my last tri I forgot to take off my helmet). I shoved 2 gels in my pocket.

This is the first time my runnig muscles actually felt fresh coming off the bike! I felt great and was all smiles at the start of the run. Feeling good, I started at 9:00 pace, but backed off to 10:00 to try and save energy. I drank Heed at every stop (about 11), ate 2 Gu gels, around MM 4 and 9, and only drank water to chase the gels. Took a bathroom break at a portajohn around MM 4. Leg cramps were starting to kick in, but after taking Hammer Endurolyte pills around MM 6, my legs felt great. But that's when my knees started giving. They began hurting a little before halfway. My mile 8 I was having to stop and give me knees a rest, stretch, walk, etc. The first half of the run my pace was around 10:00. I ended around 12:00 pace overall, so I was crawling during the last few miles, and my knees were on fire.

Train more, train for longer distances. Wear my knee supports, or K-tape on my knees. Bring some Ibuprofen. Change everything!

It was a hot day, 95 degrees at the end of the run, and I think the heat affected everyone.

I finished, immediately sat down, threw an ice-cold towel over my face, and cried a bit! It took a few minutes before my knees could support me again. I sat at the finish for a good 5 minutes before I made my way to the tables. My fiancee grabbed my post-race pizza and I ate that along with some snacks and some more fluids. There wasn't a post-race headache that I usually suffer, so I believe my nutrition and my fluid intake was great. A personal best, in my opinion! After eating, I walked gingerly to the first aid tent to get my knees wrapped in ice. While there I spoke to and witnessed a bunch of DNF's and some dehydrated fellas. Poor guys. One guy had an IV in him, and his cramps were neverending. One other gentleman--a seasoned ultramarathoner--suffered heat exhaustion and had to drop out of the run.


My running ability