Columbia Triathlon - TriathlonOlympic

What a great swim I had! I had no expectations on time. I just wanted to focus on percieved effort and try to get on the feet of a faster swimmer and see what would happen. It felt like it took forever to make it to the first turn, then the long leg home seemed to absolutely fly by. My HR was 170 when I stood up and I immediately thought that I had gone way too hard and would pay for it later, but when I got home and checked my splits, my average HR was 159 which I think was just perfect for this distance. I'm going to need to pull it back a bit for Eagleman, but I think this was the best effort I had today and I couldn't be happier. The big swimming volume lately paid off.

I wouldn't change anything...I sighted well, dealt with body contact and passing slower swimmers well, and paced well. This was the best triathlon swim I've ever had.

Good transition...I felt slow jogging up from the water but gained time relative to the field.
AG rank: 6/116
Overall men rank: 70/968

Wetsuit was stuck on ankles - didn't do a good job of snapping it off quickly.

I was a little slow slipping into my shoes because there's only abot 20 yards of flat surface before climbing out of T1. HR was high for the first 3-4 miles but then settled into normal cycling ranges. Some of the downhills and turns were downright scary with the roads being wet and being in a pretty big group of riders. I kept passing and getting re-passed by the same guy for 20 miles which really kept me in the game mentally and I finally dropped him for good on the last decent climb with a few miles left. I've never done a race this big so I got a big charge out of the huge crowd coming into T2. Very cool. 3 scoops SE and water on the bike.

I probably held back a little too much, but I still wouldn't change anything. On the course, I felt like I was keeping a "hard" effort, but as I rolled into transition, I felt really good and thought I should have gone harder. With never seeing the run course, I didn't want to blow it out on the bike so I rode smart. Pace was relatively comfortable except for the high efforts on a couple tough climbs.

Another good transition where I picked up a little more time on the field. I'll take every second I can get no matter where it comes from.
AG: 9/116
Overall: 87/968

I transitioned to the run very well and my legs felt good within a half mile. I think my training plan which has a 30 minute transition run after 2 of every 3 long rides has really helped. I've obviously heard everyone talk about how tough this run is and it didn't dissapoint. That first hill with a couple switchbacks really got the HR up right out of the gate. I found it difficult on the downhills because they were so steep. I saw Glenn, Chuck, Paul, then Shelly on the run which is always a lift. I like getting high-fives from everyone. My HR recoveries on the downhills were very good and I had a drink at almost every aid station. I used a gel flask Z5 had given me in my jersey pocket for the run which I really liked. It's nice not having the hassle of dealing with individual gel packs. I knew coming out of T2 that I needed a sub-50 minute run to break 2:40 so that became a goal. I thought I was on track until I hit mile 5 and realized the toll the hills had taken on my pace. I didn't lose heart - the entire race was going so well I couldn't help but to enjoy being in the moment. I had enough in the tank to open it up in the last mile or so so I paced well.

Similar to the bike, I couldn't help but to feel like I held back a little too much. While I was out there, the effort felt just right, but with a half mile to go I felt like I should have pushed harder. Again, I wouldn't change a thing...I had a great run!

Drank some water and hung out with Glenn and the CMS crew. We couldn't find Shelly after looking for quite some time (sorry, Shelly!) so we packed up and hit the road. A post-race stop at Coldstone Creamery ended an awesome day! Glenn and I traded our standard war stories on the way home - it's always fun to ride with him because I'm sure Marianne gets sick of hearing me talk about the race when she's with me.


For the first time since I've raced triathlons, endurance was not my limiter. If anything, I would say strength was my limiter on this course and more time in the weight room would have been a big help.


There's no wonder why this race is so popular....it will definitely be on my schedule for many years to come. This was the most organized, well-run and supported event I've ever done and the course was fantastic. CTA is really top-notch!