At Blalock Lakes they actually have another wave go off before the normal 39 AG and below group like TTP likes to do. They had 19 AG and below which included all of the SE Regional racers. Needless to say, most of them are FAST. They were sent off, and we had three minutes before we were sent off.

Well, just like Tanner the first 100m was a slug-fest. Only difference at Blalock was that it did not end after 100m. Somehow I seemed to find the one group of guys that all swam the same speed that I do, and we all wanted to swim right on top of one another. It was crazy, we all were swimming straight from buoy to buoy, but the issue was that I had a guy in front of me, one on each side, and someone back there trying to drag me under by my feet. It was crazy out there, punch, kick, elbow, oops...back to the surface to breath, elbow to the face, and repeat. I had never seen anything like that even through B2B & IMFL's swims.

About the time I was ready to kill myself, I was on top of the turn buoy. I hugged the turn tight and headed for land. Oddly enough, the second half of the swim was completely different from the first half. I had plenty of space, drafted off of feet, and then hips, pass and repeat. I worked my way up the inside of the crowd, and cruised to the exit.

I am not sure what the issue was. Could I have found the one spot in the entire field that same the same speed that I do? Not likely. The return was a completely different swim compared to the first half.

The transition mat was about 10 feet from the water's edge, and my rack was straight up through the gate. Lucky for me, someone had marked their spot with a ballon on the next rack over. Thus, I just looked for it to locate my bike.

Quick transition and I was out the door.

Nothing, sub :30 is my target.

Exited transition and mounted. I got into my shoes as I crossed the dam with ease, and then came up out of the saddle to climb the hill of the other side to get the blood flowing into the legs. At the top of that hill it is basically flat to the front of the park, and hang a right out of the park.

As normal with the start of most bikes, I passed several guys right at the start due to a slow swim, quick T1, and quickly getting up to speed. After that I found myself alone for a long while. Nothing that notable about this bike course except it was up and down with a net climb for 10 miles, and then up and down with a net down hill for the last 4.9 miles.

None of the hills were that bad, but just enough up and down to break up setting into a real hammer rhythm. The course was marked at 14.7, but I had 14.9 miles on my computer. Not really sure how I added the extra distance though.

The return in the park was definitely a fast one with you gaining a full speed run at the dismount line. You come back down that first hill you climbed, cross the dam which is flat, and dismount is on the other side. A nice cheering section lined up right there to boost your energy into T2.

I should have pushed harder, but since this was my first time racing Blalock I did not know what to excect.

Dismounted and looked for that ballon. Racked the bike, shoes on, and headed for the door. Only problem was that I did not look before the race to see where the run exit was. I headed straight out the front, the only problem was that the run exited out the rear of transition and back around. I had to double back through tranistion to exit after figuring that out. Stupid mistake on my part.

Look before the race starts to see where the run exit is. Just a dumb mistake on my part that cost me 10 seconds.

Once I figured out the run exit was out the rear of transition, I hit the mat swinging to set the tempo. Hammered it up the first hill which was right outside of T2, and started reeling people in. The first mile is up and down with a net up hill climb, and that 1 mile marker always seems to never come and that did not change today. However, I was finding a rhythm that was a nice mix of pushing & curise control. Plus, the runners ahead of me were coming back quickly. Mile 2 is a mix of up and down, but no real notable net up hill or down hill.

About a .25 of a mile from the turn around I spoted two guys in my AG. I caught the first before the turn, and then the second just after the turn. After that I was back to "no-man's land" with no one really within range. The issue with that is I tend to put it in cruise control, but I knew that the last guy I passed, who was in my AG, was lurking somewhere right behind me.

The final mile, or mile 3, is again up and down but with a net downhill to the finish. I kept it in cruise control until I saw the firetruck whic I noted was sitting atop the first hill outside of tranistion. Once I saw that I picked up the pace to the finish.

Don't set it in cruise control

I grabbed some water, and walked back up to where my wife/son were to cheer on everyone else.


Bad swim, and not knowing the course. Next time I will know more of what to expect and give it a more wide open effort.


Afterwards I hung out with the All3sports team chatting and goofing off, and talked to everyone I knew out there about how their race went, etc.

It was a solid effort which I was able to edge out 3rd in my AG, finishing just 6 seconds ahead of 4th AG. A bit closer than I perfer. Nonetheless, getting on the podium is getting on. Awards seemed to take a bit longer to start than normal, but then they got rolling. TTP takes a picture of all they guys/women that metaled, and then All3Sports took a group shot.

All-in-all, it was a good day.