Hickory Knob InternationalTriathlon - TriathlonOlympic

Got in the water for a wave start. For some reason, I was grouped with the Clydes and Masters, but it was not a big deal. The only issue it caused was making it difficult to find a decent person to draft off of. Drafted well for about 200m till I wanted to pick up the pace. I proceeded to just stay on my own for a while, found another fish but lost him in the chaos of buoy rounding. About halfway through I began to catch some collegiate swimmers (who started in the wave before me, with a 4:00 lead). All in all good swim.

Push harder? The run time up the hill was included in the swim time, so my swim goal was off by a minute. Plus, not have "Obsessed" by Mariah Carey stuck in my head. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some Mariah, but that b!tch was squealing in my head for the entire race.....

8/171 in T1 time, one of my best ever. Running up the hill was not nearly as bad as it was last year, I was blasting by people that were just crawling to get to the top. Couldn't really feel my feet once I got to my bike, so had to take a moment to situate myself. Wetsuit was slightly difficult to get off, but no worries.

Move faster? Practice transitions with freezing cold hands and feet: I need to get used to putting on and taking off things when I cant feel my fingers.

Started off and almost immediately wrecked due to people stopping at the mount line to get on the bike. My language was colorful as I did a flying mount in the grass as there was no room on the road. Whatever, shake it off. Mariah was still with me, so I knew it would be a long ride, so just clam down and get to it. Then, another derailment at mile 1.5. Prior to the race start, the director stated that the 1.5 turnaround was for the sprint run, not bike. Well, lo and behold, someone right in front of me decides to stop and shimmy around the traffic cone to turn around. I almost rear ended them, and thus more colorful language. Ok, so the guy could have been confused, or was dropping out. But a)pay attention to the race director when they are giving important tips and directions regarding the course and b) if you want to stop and turnaround to go home, do it as a safe place and make sure someone isn't flying up to you.

Bulk of the ride was fine. Terrible road conditions, but I just took it easy. I wasn't looking for a crazy pace or anything, and wanted to save my legs for the run (which in my opinion is difficult). Nothing too eventful, took gels at mile 3 and mile 22, so I never felt low on energy, just physically hungry.

Push harder? Spend more time in the saddle? By the time I got off the bike, my a$$ hurt something fierce and my shoulders and back were very tight.

20/171 overall. Again a good transition. Coming off the bike, I could not feel my feet. So upon dismounting (flying) I could not tell when my feet actually hit the ground to start running. Had a bit of a trip up but got into it and continued business as usual. Took FOREVER to get my shoes on since I, of course, could not feel my hands and feet.

Nothing that was in my control

Met Caroline right off the bike and asked if she wanted to pace with me for a bit to get HR back to normal. She agreed, and we actually ended up running the whole distance together. Without her, I would have not gone as fast. At mile 3 my knee was killing me (I was running on shoes I have had since January). We continued to talk which helped to take my mind off the pain (and Mariah! It was a win-win!). Didn't take in any nutrition at all, as it was not necessary (too cold to sweat a significant amount). From mile 4 to finish, no words were exchanged minus the occasional "1 mile left" or "lets kill this hill". We sprinted down the finishers chute together, which was a lot of fun.

Not a thing. Yea, I could have pushed harder, but having Caroline there made the run very enjoyable when I normally dread this run course.

Got some BBQ and hopped it the car with the heat on full blast. Ice for the knee and sitting around in the cold rain for awards. I probably shouldnt have stayed, all I got was a cheap hat. SetUp really needs to work on their awards....


My heart was not in this one. I remember telling my parents that I was simply not looking forward to this event like I do others. They still were encouraging and cheered me on as I raced by, but really I did not "race" this event. I was not looking forward to the most difficult course I do all year, but I knew it needed to be done. The weather did not help either.

However, I did improve my time significantly from last year. Course PR by 12 minutes, the only thing I did not improve upon was the bike (almost identical times from last year). The entire point of this event was to act as a benchmark for my performance, and I feel it was a good indicator of how much improvement I have made in the last year and how far I have come since I started all this training almost 3 years ago. I will be back again next year for another PR, believe it! And hopefully, Mariah will not accompany me the next time....


SetUp Events puts on very professional races, and I would recommend anyone to go out and race in their series. Yea, some of the AG prizes are subpar, but hey, were not out there to win a trophy for everything we do, right? I will be back again next year :)