I didn't swim with my usual group (Stephen aged up), and I had to pace myself. I felt fast, but in retrospect, I took it out too easy.

Go harder?

I was frozen.
I was slower than usual by a lot here. I decided to put on a jacket for the wind. I toweled off. Unusual for me. I saw the kid from my heat get to his bike. I took my wetsuit off quite slowly. I saw him finishing transition, and I hurriedly put my helmet on and ran to the exit and mount line like a rabid dog. I wasn't going to give up my lead that easy. I jumped on my bike, wet feet and all.

Find my darn toe covers!

So I didn't zip up my form fitting jacket, and I slowed way way down for the first 1/2 mile or more trying to fiddle with it. I also had my gloves sitting on my handlebars... just sitting there being all not aerodynamic. My jacket was flapping in the wind like a sail. But that kid passed me. So I thought, "fuck it", and just went for it. I put the hammer on. It took 4 miles, but I caught up to him on a roller, and felt great. I was now in front of the pace truck. We were the top two in the entire race. But I was a bit winded from the pursuit, so I laid off the throttle for the next two miles. Then the kid caught up to me AGAIN! The kid was now behind the pace truck at mile 6. I now knew my competitor. He was 17 years old! I figured I would used my experience rather than my lungs. So this time, I held back. I waited at 85% or more of my max, and slowly tried to catch up. I saw when he was fast, and when he was slow. He was FAST in really steep hills, but not as fast as me in the flats, and he didn't seem to know the course as well. My time came at mile 8. This time, I pushed and pushed. There was one steep hill left, but I didn't let him catch me, and I was gone. It was me and pace truck until I get to T2.

Not wear my jacket? Or zip it first? Plan better?

SLOW SLOW FROZEN HELL. When I rode in on top of my shoes, I couldn't feel my feet at all. It felt like I had bionic legs. I could feel what I imagine were the balls of my feet on the pavement and grass, but most of that information came in because the impact of my "feet" on the ground shook my bones to my core. I went down the wrong set of racks and fumbled to find my spot in an empty transition area. When I found my spot, I started to simply put my shoes on. Left wouldn't go in, so I tried my right. My toes were so frozen that I couldn't even feel my shoe opening. It hurt? I can't tell, even now. After much fighting, my right foot went in. That's when that kid went in. I put my race belt on (usually I do that as I go out). I tried my left foot... hard. So hard that immediately, my whole quad *and* my calf went completely stiff and cramped. I fell over. on. my. ass. The kid ran out. I forced my shoe on. I couldn't feel a thing, so the fact that the insole had bunched up inside didn't bother me until after the race when my feet gained sensory input after thawing. I ran out of T2, and the kid was ahead by around 50 to 75 yds.

Find my darn toe covers! That made a HUGE difference. It was horrible.

I really focused on my run form. No more over reaching feet. Keep my head facing downwards. And my run felt *great* compared to normal. I wasn't fast, by any stretch. But it felt like I was working it, and going forward, and not in constant pain. I was passed by the eventual overall winner who was on his way to setting a course record (from a full wave that had started 6 minutes after us), and one guy who was 31. I never saw the 17yo during the race again. I felt great, though. The cramps I got in T2 never materialized on the run itself.

Not much.
I am practicing running off of my bike, and it's helping a lot. Perhaps it's time to do some interval training on a track with running.

The massage people are awesome.
Chatted. Ran around to change and stuff. I felt good. For once, I felt like I could keep on running!


I wasn't prepared for the cold. I also didn't have anyone to pace off of the swim.


I love this race every year, EE runs races well, and they've gotten better each year. I am glad to do this series every year.