USAT Age Group Nationals - Triathlon

bit of a strange start, due to delay, treaded water an extra 10 mins, then finally got out, then everyone started to get out and the dock started to sink, then once we got going the first 200 yards were tough. There were so many people and very little room, it was full contact and a mosh pit, I felt like I had no room, I actually had to swim breastroke a little to try and calm myself down, after the first buoy, found a little space then it went better from there because I could relax and swim, time ended up not being too bad

not panic in the first 200, actually thought about going for a kayak for a sec. Glad I didn't. Swallowed quite a bit of water. Also either the course was long or my navigation was poor. Garmin said I swam almost a mile instead of .9, which is a little less than 10% off. My speed felt good however once I got out of the crowd.

walking up ramp a little tough, then when I started jogging, legs felt good, was glad to be out of the water, passed a few people in transition, was glad to see a lot of bikes still on the rack

not much, maybe lube ankles, 109th in AG in transition, 1089 overall, not too fast

probably my best olympic bike split ever. in aerobars almost the whole time except the steep descents. Felt good on the hills. Was a good effort. There were a couple of draft packs that passed me, saw the ref writing their numbers though. Enjoyed the bike course, felt it was one of my better rides

Not much. This was one of my better bike portions ever in terms of staying in aerobars and putting forth effort. Enjoyed this portion of the race and the course.

transition felt OK, in and out of shoes quick. Was surprised there was no water station at transition, first water station not until a mile into the run

not much, OK transition, 119 in age, 1095 overall, not too fast here either

started off fast, took a gel at the beginning, no water station for a mile, first mile maybe a little too hard, there was a guy at the first water station that ran next to the tables but didn't take water so I was blocked so I said he should run in the middle if he wasn't taking water and he jumped on my for "running my mouth", I apologized (?) and kept running, after 2nd mile took a gel, still felt OK, toward end of third mile started feeling it, walked the water station, thought the turn around would never come, then it did finally, took a gel at mile 4, then ran in, pace fell from the first 2 miles

build into the run a little more to try to gain speed through the run, watching some of the leaders run they don't seem to be suffering, try to run more relaxed, good overall after pushing the bike

drank a water, ran into a friend from college who did well (a Kona finisher), walked to hotel and showered, came back and stood in line for the recovery boots., Transition didn't open for another hour and a half, had some time to kill.


too many collisions early on in the swim, bike was OK couple of slower miles on the run


Maybe an Olympic PR, great weather, great venue, only 2 complaints - delay at the start and no drink stations near transition, other than that really glad I travelled to and did this race, probably the highest caliber field and largest and most prolific race I've ever done. I think since I finished in the top 33% (32%) that I automatically qualified for next year in my age.