with all men starting at the same time and the start area width limited by rocks and reef, the relatively short swim distance with two bouys, it was feet and elbows with everybody the whole swim. it was more like an arm swing / kick crawl the whole way......but, there were little to no waves or current, so the RPE for the distance was good for me. I got more winded running out of the surf, along the beach deep wet sand for 100m than i did during the swim.

the field the transition area was in had just been mowed, so there was lots of loose grass and lots of stickers / cockleburrs!! had to sit down, rinsed the sand and grass off my feet, picked out a few pricklers, put on socks and bike shoes, fast walked the bike out, mounted on the hwy and clipped in off a rolling push.

the wind wasn't really a factor today. 4.5 miles out and back all flat except the 1 mile loop up and back down the hill behind the high school. avg'd about 23-25 mph out, 16-18 up the hill, and 20-22 mph back. Goal was to finish under 30 min / 20 mph avg.

much stronger on the run after the halfway point.

good race / distance for me. talked with molly and ted before the race. met a fellow BT'er (goodbatch) before the race...... he saw my new BT shirt and asked if I was the "wookie"..... seems the wookie's been AWOL for a while.....so i explained i did know the wookie, had met him last year at Kalealo Sprint Tri... but hadn't seen him in a while. had some fruit and muffins after the race with molly and ted, then back home to reality.