The lake was smooth and the water was the perfect temperature. I'm still not very good at sighting but overall I felt about as smooth as I have in a while. My leg cramped up while getting out of the water which led to a slow limp to transition but thankfully it passed. The swim felt long and after checking my Garmin and talking to a few other racers, it was indeed long. My Garmin clocked a 1,890 yard swim and I'm not sure I was well prepared for that distance.

Swim more especially in my wetsuit!

My hamstring seized up badly as soon as I hit the mud after the swim. I awkwardly hobbled/limped into transition which took me longer than usual to get my shoes on. I went sockless which felt great but I didn't have it in me to try the flying mount.

Nothing

Road was typical Texas chip seal which made for a long, bumpy ride. I pumped my tires up to 105 on the front and 110 on the rear which in retrospect what probably too much. I popped one gel around the 12 mile mark and drank 1/2 bottle of Hammer Heed and about 1/2 a bottle of water BTA. I was cramping all over the place - abs, hips (multiple times) and hamstrings but thankfully it didn't slow me down to much. I also hit a bump about a mile from the finish which did something to my rear brake leading it to rub directly against my wheel like resistance on a spin bike. I could tell people were looking at me trying to figure out why I was pushing so hard and going so slow at the end but as I told myself, thankfully this happened with 1 mile to go. Garmin clocked this ride at 23.2 miles which felt about right.

Nothing eventful to report here. I didn't rush given my slog to get to dismount and figure I could use the extra 30 seconds to get my body ready for the run.

There were 2 pretty good hills on the run which I ran 4 times being the course being 2 loops. I was also getting a blister on my foot probably from the combination of running sockless, sweat and the wonderful chip seal road. The first mile was horrible because my legs felt heavy from the last mile of my ride but then I got into a groove. Given I'd been cramping and didn't have/take any salt I focused on keeping my stride tight but cadence high. I had probably 3 stop me in my tracks cramps but was generally able to keep it together and finish strong. I was hoping to run 45 but no complaints about the 47.

I had a hard sprint the the finish so I caught some air then hit the water/food tent.


This is a fun and fast race and great for practicing new things. There were only 65 Olympic Distance participants and given we had perfect weather, I had a great time racing. I tried waiting around for my "1st place" medal but after not starting the awards ceremony after waiting around for over an hour I had to hit the road. Too bad!