I thought I did pretty well on the swim considering how inconsistent my training has been. I managed to keep my pace (and HR) under control early on in the swim. I stayed more to the outside during most of the long stretch to the first buoy. As I got into it more, I tried to swim tighter to the buoys. It's probably why I feel like I had more contact with other swimmers than I have in any other race. I seemed to deal with it pretty well and didn't feel any panic, even when I got nailed in the head and almost dunked rounding the 2nd buoy. Once I hit that final stretch heading back to the beach I let myself open up and feel more like I was racing. I didn't take a lot of time off last year's swim, but did finish 52 seconds faster.

It's possible I could have gone a little faster or maybe had a tighter line to the first turn. But I feel like I made good decisions that let me race more later and have a good finish. With how spotty my training has been, particularly the swim, I feel like this was a very good performance for me, so hard to argue that I should change anything.

I'm not sure what caused T1 to be about 40 seconds slower than last year. I did struggle a little to get my bike gloves on, but I'm not sure it was enough to cost me 40 seconds. Most of T1 went well enough. I did put my race bib on in T1 to save time in T2, so maybe the combination of those two things made up most of the difference.

Maybe just give up the bike gloves? I need to try some training rides without them and see how it goes. Possibly running in my bike shoes rather than regular shoes, which I used to use up until this year?

Given how I felt based on effort, I was expecting a little better pace than I ended up with. I really thought I was going to come in more like 18.7 or 18.8 mph. I tried to tell myself to pace myself at the beginning, but I got sucked into racing and pushed my legs pretty hard. A little too hard, I think. I came in just under last year's time, only taking 29 seconds off.

As a stand alone sport, I don't think I could have done much differently to perform better on the bike. However, I think my effort cost me on the run. I'm going to have to keep my competitive side under wraps for my HIM because I can't afford to suffer on the run.

My socks were pretty wet by the end of the ride, so I changed into dry socks. I also took the time to put on calf sleeves. Most everything went smoothly, except for a little bit of a struggle getting my bike racked. I still managed to finish T2 in 12 seconds less than last year.

Nothing, really. The transition area was a little congested and my space was kinda cramped. But there isn't really much I can do about that. I could have practiced racking an unracking my bike since they weren't using the typical metal pipe for the bike rack.

I started out of T2 and was waiting for my calves to cramp. By 1/4 mile, they hadn't and I didn't get the sense they would. This had me optimistic for the run. But at about 1/2 mile, my quads started feeling tight and felt like they were on the verge of cramping. I spent the rest of the run managing my quads. Speeding up when I felt they could handle it, backing off the moment I felt a twinge or tightness. I took in Gatorade at every aid station and a gel at the two that offered them. When I hit mile 5, I decided to crank it up and go hard to the end. I crushed it! I ran that last mile in 8:13 (my average before that was close to 8:55!) I could feel twinges of cramping as I entered the finish chute, but I cruised across the finish line. It was a tough run, but I avoided disaster.

My time was about 2:00 slower than last year. But looking at the satellite image, you can tell they moved the turnaround. Last year, my GPS measured the course at 6.0 miles, which really helps explain my finish time of 52:11. I think they measured the course better this year and my watch seems to confirm that, measuring the run at 6.17 this year.

I did just about everything I could to make that a good run. The run itself might have been one of my best efforts from a mental standpoint. Physically, my legs could have run faster if it weren't for the cramping. The thing to do differently would be to have been smarter on the bike.

Drank some water and draped a cold, wet towel over my head to cool down. I grabbed a bite to eat and a cola.


Training. My training really got inconsistent in June (due in part at least to taking a vacation in the middle of the month). I think more consistent training and I would have been able to handle that pace on the bike better as well as I would have been better prepared for all of the hills.


This is a pretty good event. This was my 2nd year doing this race and I'm sure I'll do it again, probably next year. It was a good atmosphere, with plenty of volunteers providing directions to the racers and cheering them on. The entry fee included some free BBQ and two beers from the beer garden. They also had a DJ playing music.