From the first lap I couldn't find my rhythm. I had a bad seal on my goggles and started leaking half way through the swim. Went slower than I would have liked, but didn't get passed.

Nothing I guess. I tried to fight through the poor start and I finished okay. Although I was hoping for more around the 5:30 time this discipline.

I got a little caught up trying to get my shirt on correctly. I used a racebelt this year, so the number didn't cause the trouble, just the tighter cycling jersey. No issues running with bike or mounting. I got into the cages on the bike fairly well. Could have been more perfect, but I'm pleased. 6/16 in my division on T1 time, 48/137 OA

My goal time for T1 was 1 minute, but I thought this was a pretty smooth transition.

Where to begin... This was an absolute horrible bike for me. When I started, I couldn't get my groove just right, but I pushed myself and was averaging 15 mph. After 5 miles on the bike, I started to slow down and just couldn't get myself pumped up to kick it into gear. Somewhere around mile 8 I made a corner coming down a hill into another quick uphill. Needless to say, I was tearing through gears on both sides. My chain popped off track and jammed between my rear fork and sprocket. I tried to jam it with the pedals to unlock it, but nothing. I had to stop and get off the bike and fix it. I couldn't pull it out but I was finally able to manuever the pedals while moving the chain and work it out. Then I had to get it started back on the track. When I got back on the bike I had to find the right gear and carefully shift from this point forward. I'm not sure how much time all this took exactly, but it was several minutes. It also frustrated me and made me want to give up. On the rest of the bike I wasn't able to pick it up enough to make up for this slow-down. My pace was all over the place and I was passed often. I finished 8 minutes over my goal pace, averaging 13.9 mph.

My first thought was I need a new bike! But in all reality, stuff like this happens and I handled it okay outside of being able to recover with my performance. Bottom line: I need more bike practice, especially with hills!

Not a lot of problems in T2 other than I almost missed the entrance. After the bike, I was kinda out of it and I ended up slamming on the brakes and hopping off the bike right at the entrance with volunteers yelling at me. My legs were heavy running my bike into the TA, but I racked and removed my helmet and headed back out with no problems. OA I was 4/137 in T2 time and 1/16 in my division

Not a lot differently, perhaps pay more attention to the entrance!

I couldn't find my rhythm on the run. I should have gotten one last drink on the last hill of the bike, but I didn't so I went into the run needing a drink. It turns out there was only 1 aid station with water and gaterade. I slowed down, had a cup of both and was back on my way. My run wasn't very good either and I made myself walk a few times for a minute or so to catch my breath and get a fresh start. This is not like me at all. I typically force myself to finish things even if it means not listening to my body or suffering more for doing so. I wanted to average 7min 45sec miles, but with the walking and my lack of hydration, 8:39 was not horribly bad. I sprinted the last 100ish meters and finished strong despite the fact that I felt like I could throw up at any minute. My run was below average, but I am pleased with it considering the bike and my hydration. My goal was about 28 minutes, so I was 4 minutes off over just under 4 miles.

Get one more drink before I got off the bike. Have a better bike so I could have performed better on the run.

I walked for a minute to cool down, got some water and other hydration and sat down. I did some light stretching then mostly sat down.


Looking back, if my bike performance were better I think I would have been very happy with the rest of the event. Bottom line I should have gotten more practice on hills and with speed work on the bike. Outside of this, more practice on EVERYTHING never hurt anyone.


The event was more organized than last year, but I still didn't like the open course with mass confusion at times as people were in the way, etc. We started a few minutes late, but wasn't too big of a deal. Packet pickup was organized. Post-race goodies weren't anything special. Gaterade, bananas, and make-your-own sandwiches. Who's going to make their own sandwich?!?!