Swim started pretty bad. Felt like my wetsuit was crushing my chest, so I ended up unzipping it a little bit after the first couple hundred yards. It let water in, so I'm sure it slowed me down, but at least I finished the swim, which I didn't think I was going to be able to do if the wetsuit was zipped all the way up.

Part of this swim time includes the run to transition area--it was a long run that included two flights of stairs.

Not wear the wetsuit--I don' think I really needed it.

T1 was okay, faster than last year by two minutes. Had a little trouble getting wetsuit off my legs, but not too bad. Took a little time to fold wetsuit into a bag to protect it from the sun.

Practice removing wetsuit more

Bike was great, best bike split I've had all year. I was worried about it since I have ridden hardly at all since my HIM six weeks ago, but it was good. Got to cheer on a lot of people--everyone in fact. I was a cheering fool on that bike.

nothing--it was a great bike

Probably could have been faster, but some butthead put his bike at the end of the rack, right over my setup, so I had to keep reaching through his bike to get my stuff. Real punk move if you ask me. Took the time to change my socks in hopes of preventing blisters (it worked!).

not so much me, but it sure would have been nice if that bike wasn't there. Probably should have made myself eat a gu too, because they don't go down well during the run.

This was rough. Started with 4:1 run:walk after initial acclimation to running. Did pretty well for first two miles (14:3x and 13:4x miles), then wheels started to come off. Walked most of the giant hilll to the turn around spot. Did some running intervals on the way back with another racer (Kenny). Ended up sending him along because he was trying to go too fast for me.

There wasn't much I could do differently given the course, the day, and my training.

Not much, I wandered around a little looking for food and drinks (of which there were hardly any) and then went and sat in transition and drank warm powerade while eating a very melted granola bar. Gathered my gear and then went for a shower. I only half listened to the awards ceremony.


Under trained in last six weeks after HIM.


Not a great race. The race itself started 20 minutes late, which threw off my warmup schedule and pre-race eating schedule. Swim and bike courses were okay. Run course is very hilly and there are only three aid stations about 1.5 miles apart. There could be more, especially with the difficulty of the course. They had packed up the HEED by the time I got to the last aid station, which sucked. Post race activities were a joke. The only thing available to drink was water, which you had to drink out of a 5oz Dixie cup (needless to say the line to get water was LONG). The only think they had to eat was a pile of granola bars. Mine was completely melted. I've done this race twice, and this year was terrible compared to last. I doubt I will be back next year.