Buffalo Triathlon - Olympic Distance - TriathlonOlympic

Early in the swim I got a mouthful of water and had to stop due to gagging and coughing. Once I got going again, things went ok. Felt good the last leg of swim, good breathing, good rythm.

Race results have me at 2:01 pace, BT has me at 1:55.

Due to the cold, I put on my orange micro fleece in T1. Had some troubles cause I was wet. The last part of the bike was into the wind and I was glad I was wearing something extra. Bike jacket would have been easier, maybe not quite as warm.

Bike jacket vs fleece?

Common Buffalo issue with too many bike on course early with overlap between Oly & Sprint. Passing lots and lots of people. Better after Oly splits off. Bike fitness is lacking, disappointed with under 20 mph but it was cold and there was some wind.

Be better prepared/trained for the bike.

Fleece came off easier than it went on. Had some helmet issues. Feet were cold, not much feeling, plus due to foot issues I put on socks, so slower T2 than normal.

Feet were "Comforatably Numb". Actually at the beginning it felt like I had no feet, just running on stubs. The cold feet/no feeling may have actually helped my raw heel, it felt fine the whole run.

I ran most of the way with a guy from St Paul, David Swanson, or Double D. He also ran Boston this year but finished ahead of me 3:25 or so I think. We talked quite a bit while running side by side. We kept about a 7:00 pace other than up the big hill at the turnaraound point. With about a mile and a half to go, I told him I'd see him at the finish line and dropped back. I expected him to pull away. But I was able to stay a stride or 2 behind him. I pulled back even with about a mile to go and then decided to push it and see if he could keep up. He couldn't keep my pace and I pulled away some. I beat him by 9 sec and also edged out another guy in my AG by 1 sec for my 6th place finish.

This was a great run, better than I anticipated. It helped running/competing with someone for so much of the run.

Hydrated, found Barb. Got some food. Talked to Petrice Mostradi, saw Araon Gill. Chatted some with Harvey Hutchings. Ate lunch by the Beckers, Andy and Tracy.


Raw heel from KC was not a factor. Bike fitness and weather were limiters.


Tough conditions this year. I was pleased with my race but disappointed with my time compared to last year. I was 10:07 slower overall. I also did an Oly at KC this year the week before. +2 min on swim, +8 min on bike, -1.5 min on run, +1 min on transitions. This was inline with overall winner times +10 min this year and AG winner +11 min, so I think the conditions played a big part.

Buffalo is big and there is a lot of congestion on the bike early for me but it's still a fun race.