2nd of 10 around the first buoy. Nobody passed me the rest of the way. Passed 6-10 before the finish. Fortunate to pass in the straigthts and find plenty of open water.

6:50 seed time.

Forgot to set bike into lower gear. Got lucky that it was in a mid gear.

Left rubber band broke before I could get foot in. Had a hard time getting my foot in after that as I climbed the first hill. Should've stood on my shoe until I got up the hill and then dealt with it on the descent. Lost time there.

Other than that I was quick. Pushed the run from the pool to the bike. Good idea.

Passed 40 or 50 people, but even so it felt sporadic because there were few ahead of me coming out of swim.

275 watt average

was 20 seconds faster in 2017

Great flying dismount at the line. Stuck the landing.

Sat down to put on shoes. So be it. Could NOT get my belt clipped. Eventually stopped fully AFTER crossing T2 line to figure it out. Belt buckle was upside down on one side so that it didn't match and wouldn't go. Ugh. Cost me 10 seconds.

Was at 6:30 pace down the first hill so slowed up knowing it was adrenaline-fueled. Was at a comfortable 7:05 after first mile when John Turner (age 45) passed me. Knew I had time on him on the clock, but wasn't sure if it was 30 seconds or a minute, so I ran hard to keep pace. Maintained pace with him through second mile and was at 6:55 average at mile 2 when he started to pull away. Kept visual connection and maintained 15-second gap. Kicked hard after final turn. Beat him.

First time using my new watch. I tested the functions prior, but for whatever reason it didn't work after my swim... it was off sequence or something. Couldn't tell because I couldn't see it with my eyes. Had my bike computer going so didn't worry about it. Fortunately it timed out and reset before my run, so I just started it again to record my run. Cost me a couple of seconds. No idea what happened. Operator error, no doubt.


Always one of my favorite races every year. Always start my season at the RTC and it's always fast! Good race support. Enthusiastic volunteers and race announcer. Good food and free massage after the race.