Concentrated on a smooth, steady first leg without getting tangled up with other swimmers. Sighting was excellent and I maintained a nice straight line to each buoy and hit each one close in for the turn.

I probably could have pushed a little harder, especially on the last leg.

Probably my smoothest T1 ever. Suit came off easy, lost maybe 4-5 seconds trying to put socks on wet feet, but over all very happy with it.

take a second to dry my feet before putting on socks.

Was a little disappointed. Time was about 2 minutes slower than my preride the day before with a much higher RPE.

Get better at going up hills.

Smooth T2. Eased off the bike after learning from last year that a cyclocross dismount does not work well when wearing road shoes.

Not much

The first hill killed me. Had to walk the last third. Once on the singletrack it was better, with a couple of short walk breaks when my HR spiked. Feet felt like bricks for the first mile or so.

Train more.

Walked for a bit, drank water, got a massage.


My run training has been somewhat lacking, so that needs to improve. The altitude was a definite factor. At almost 8000 feet, it was noticeable, especially when trying to recover from a hard effort.


Gorgeous venue, well organized. Post-race activities virtually non-existent. Challenging course.