Hartsville International - TriathlonOlympic

The water was very warm because it's heated by the nearby nuclear plant. This made sighting tough because there was a heavy fog on the surface of the water because the air temp was cooler than the water temp. I went out hard for the first 200 meters or so. The right side of my goggle filled with water almost immediately. I got lucky and was able to fix my goggles without stopping when we came across a sandbar at about the 200 meter mark which made the depth about 2 ½ feet. I was able to stand-up, fix my goggles while still moving forward. The rest of the swim was fairly uneventful. I went too wide after the first turn and added some distance for myself. I drafted a few times and just tried to keep a steady effort thoughout.

Make sure my goggles are totally sealed before the start. Sight a little better.

Slow T1. Should have been much smoother. One of my cycling shoes was still velcroed.

Make sure my shoes are not velvroed

Very hard effort on the bike. I was only passed by one person, who I later passed when he made a turn error near the end of the course. Maybe a little too hard ??, maybe a little too much gel ??, maybe a little too much drink ??? You'll see why I'm asking all these questions later when you get to the run section ...

Lost a water bottle (an expensive one with the built in gel container). Also, lots of lower back pain. I'm not sure if this is from shear exertion or if it's from fit. I did the cardinal sin of screwing with my setup the night before the night before the race. I changed out my seatpost because I needed the one with the setback to better secure the Hydro Tail I bought to get my bottle cages off the frame and behind my body (out of the wind). I'll either be getting re-fit or playing with the seat height myself this week to try to get it figured out before the HIM.

Not sure ... I'll have to figure out what made my run so terrible. Maybe go out a little easier?

Another slow transition. This is mainly from putting on socks. I haven't been running without them in training and I didn't want to start today.

Start training without socks again so I can race without them.

Ugh. Absolutely the most painful run I've ever endured. Just as with Festival of Flowers, I was plagued with severe cramping in my abdomen on each side under my lungs. I’m not sure why this happens in races and doesn’t in training. Too much liquid? Not enough ?, Too much gel? Too hard of an effort on the bike? I don’t know, but being a minute or so off my target pace is killing me. I’ve gotta get this thing figured out … I had to stop twice and walk with my arms above my head. The only time that I felt good was in the last .2 miles when someone pulled up beside me and I got pissed and sprinted him out. I felt no pain at that point.

Be without cramps.

A couple of cool sports drinks and some water and fruit.


The run.


My run was so miserable that I almost feel bad placing in my AG. I guess all the bike-work I've done over the past few months saved me (and perhaps killed my run?). Anyway, there's a lot I still haven't figured out about how to race effectively at this distance. Bottom line ... I blew it. I was just slightly ahead of the 1st place AGer at the start of the run. He stepped up, I fell apart, he got 1st, I got 2nd.