-> Hill and T1 part of swim time.

Very aggressive group. The Ocean was calm enough not to spread competitors out. I was in a pod of about 12 swimmers and we didn't get organized, instead everyone held their ground and kicked, elbowed, side swiped, punched, hip checked, and swam over/under each other. I thought I was doing good as I was keeping up but I think I expended too much energy not backing down and swimming my own race. Perhaps I should have dropped back and tried passing the group on the outside. Going up the hill to the transition was tough. Legs didn't want to go yet. Trying to make them got me dizzy.

Swim my race, draft the group not try to beat it. This part of my race disappointed me. I expected to do much better in the swim.

Good transition. Time part of swim.

Crowded course. Not much room to pass. Wound up riding with a pack of pretty decent riders. I would beat them up the hills but they would use their aerobars and aero position to beat me down. I just couldn't distance myself from them.

Learn when you can't distance yourself to stop trying to make surges and waste energy. I could have stayed mid pack the whole way in a comfortable effort and conserved energy. I'm going to get some aerobars for my Olys.

No socks and Yankz on running shoes, fast transition. First time going sockless and using the no tie laces. I was very happy with that setup and didn't blister.

-> Time part of run (just what I needed, more time added to the run!)

-> T2 part of run time.

Much suffering but I didn't give in to the voices telling me how much better I would feel if I just stopped. Besides the hills running a half mile on the sand was a little different from my nice easy, flat, pavement running that I am used to.

Stay at the hotel bar and read about the race. No, no, no that wouldn't be right. I would replace my agony thoughts with "happy thoughts."

One volunteer told me I only had ten minutes to go. I replied "Really? Only a quarter mile left? Cool!"

Doubled over in agony


As always - the run. But I do consistently get better. In twenty years I'll be able to keep up. Watch out Ironman 2025!


This would have been a tough first race. My first race had clinics, course descriptions, lots of people making sure you knew what to do. This was pretty much show up, rack your bike and get to the swim start. And the competitors weren't there just to have fun and finish. It was a USAT regional championship. Perhaps a lot of people were there for no reason other than make nationals.

You do with it what you can. Overall I still had a blast.