Because of the incident with that lady, our start was a bit rushed. People were still making their way to the start position when the gun went off. I have proof since my girl friend took a video of my start. Starting off however was kinda chaotic. I was somewhere outside in the middle of the pack (if that makes any sense) with enough space between me and the swimmer in front but that dude was kicking so much that I had to just let him go before I could finally start. I think there were 4 or 5 bouys to the end so I had planned on swimming outside for a while and work my self in which I did about 3 bouys to go before the first turn. From here on out, I was in line with the bouys.

During the swim, I didn't panic at all when people touched me or came near me like I did during my first tri. In this race, I had people pull my leg, kicked in the face and even felt a strong punch to the back of my head. Ok so it wasn't really a punch since the guy was probably just doing his stroke. With all of that, not once I was ever thrown out of rhythm and I felt lots of energy at the end of the swim. I thought for sure I could've broken that 2 minute barrier but I definitely had a good steady pace and fast for my standards.

Push the slow people out of the way so I can get to the start before they fire that gun!

The transition area was totally soggy and muddy. I wish I hadn't rained so much the night before.

Nothing. Using body glide liberally on my legs worked like a charm and got me out of my suit in record time.

The muddy transition area really slowed my bike start so much. I had troubles clipping in to my cleats and felt like I couldn't pedal at all. I tried to wash the mud off with my water bottle but that didn't do very much at all. When I finally got going, I found myself all alone with an occassional rider from the 35-39 and 40-44 age groups. I think the group ahead of me was the F 30-34 so they were the majority of the riders I passed.

I didn't have my Polar watch with me for this race since it's under warranty repair right now so I had no idea if I was pushing too hard or not hard at all. I know my cadence was good but I guess I depend on that watch to make sure that I keep working and pedaling.

Not sure what I would do differently. Maybe pray hard enough so I won't have to deal with the mud next time?

This was faster than I anticipated. I got into my running shoes real quick and off to the run.

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I don't know what happened here but I felt like my knees weren't supporting me at all. In fact, my left knee started to hurt about 1 mile into the run. I had to slow down just to keep my current pace. The crappy road surface didn't help me much either. Breathing was ok and I didn't think I was laboring but I just could not kick any harder or faster. I did sprint the last couple of hundred meters to the finish. I just couldn't resist doing sprinting after hearing crazy foot steps behind me. When the guy came up next to me, I just put my head down and started hauling butt. My girl friend caught me on video and judging by my facial expression, I was either pissed or hurting so bad. It was probably both.

Don't know yet.

Stretched a lot. Had a bottle of water, powerade, and beer. Never had Michelob ultra before and I don't think I ever will again.


I never thought I would say this but my run is slowing me down. One year ago, it was trying to survive the swim but now it's trying to run faster. Crazy...


This is just an awesome race. The venue is awesome great and the overall atmosphere is electric. I'm pretty sure I'll do this race next year but I'll probably sign up for the Olympic distance. I can't wait for the official photos with the State Capitol in my background. By the way, I beat the Texas Gov by about 5 minutes this time. It's payback for the 1 minute he had on me at the Rookie Tri.