Pumpkin Man - TriathlonSprint

All men 34 and under swim start from in the water/waist deep. This was my strongest swim to date. I had a great time, was focused and stayed on course. Sighting was right on, though I almost always had someone somewhat near me so I could double check my path. After I rounded the last buoy I hit it hard. I felt strong and felt like I was cruising! I've never felt so good during a swim... Oly/HIM will be in next years plans!

I still need to work on my swim. While I felt good, I still only had an avg speed of about 2:30's = slow! But I was comfortable for the first several hundred yards in the middle of the pack.

I forgot to put rubber bands on my shoes and I couldn't get a full revolution of my cranks without my shoe dropping down to the ground. I actually had to stop and reposition myself and my shoe to get going. Someone is going to have a terrible T1 exit photo!!

Remember to put my shoes in position! Time was great considering the distance of T1.

Torture and pain! This was great! Such a challenging ride and yet so much fun. I got passed a lot. For a guy in Mid-Michigan heading out the the mountains to do a race with no previous hill/mountain work... I did alright :)

All climbing with minimal rest time... uh, no rest time.

I could have/should have swapped out for my compact crankset, but didn't want to have to mess with the derailleur.

T2 went very well. Easy in/ easy out.

Nothing really. 1500 athletes at this event made for a rather large transition set up.

Nice out and back course. Ended up hitting all 3 aid stations for water, but still felt thirsty and warm. It wasn't near my best run, but given the conditions and course I'm happy!

Good run after a brutal ride.

Lot's of water and Vitamin Water (maybe a beer too)


Course difficulty (climbs) and heat.


BBSC did an awesome job on this race. Nothing like what I'm used to for event organizations here in Michigan. Plenty of happy volunteers who cheered me as I passed them. Course was very well marked. Website had everything including elevation charts to prep my mind for the oncoming pain.

By the end of the race my quads were done, I was totally spent. I couldn't have run any faster across that finish line. This is the effort that I now expect for myself in future races. I pushed beyond any race that I've done before.