Swim was pretty good. Looking at the buoys, it seemed that the nearer buoys had drifted left. So to swim the buoy line to the first turn was longer. I lined up on the right, with a plan to head out straight for the big yellow turn buoy, rather than head to the first orange buoy.

Seems like a few other swimmers had the same idea, so there's a group of strong swimmers ( at least they looked that way ) lined up on the right.

I didn't get in the chute immediately when they called us, as there was still 5 minutes to go before our wave start, so I wasn't on the front row. I ended up 3-4 people back. They called out the time, dropped the rope, and sent us off. I ran past most of the people in front of me, so that when I started dolphining I was with the front of the group. So that worked out well.

I followed my plan of hammering the start. About 1/2 way down the pier, groups were forming up. I was ahead of the main pack, and there were 2 groups. One really fast group, one that was about the same speed as I was going. I fell in behind some feet in the second group and latched on for the ride.

I picked some good feet, as I got a good pull from the same guy all the way. He kept up the pace pretty good, and I was able to sit back and not work so hard. He navigated pretty well, only a few minor corrections here and there.

I picked up the pace a bit as we neared the end, and came out about even with the guy, maybe a step or two ahead of him going up the stairs at the exit.



Dunno. Think swim could have been better, but it was pretty good. Maybe try to latch onto the fastest group and hang on for dear life.

Wetsuit got hung up on the ankles again.

I'd planned on buying a new wetsuit at the expo, but ended up buying a new 10 speed DA cassette instead. Turns out you're not supposed to use 9 speed lockrings on 10 speed cassettes. Also, my previous 10 speed cassette was only Ultegra ( the horror! ) so I was obliged to upgrade. :)

Anyway, I ended up sitting down and ripping the suit off my ankles. It's just too stretchy. I stand on it, and pull my leg up, and up, and up, and up and it doesn't come out. Grrrrr.

Helmet goes on, glasses go on, and I'm gone. I keep my shoes attached on the bike, and rode with my feet on top until off of the brick paved section ( about 2 blocks ).

New wetsuit and/or cut the legs so they are further up my calf and come off easier. That could cut 15-20 seconds at least.

Entire workout (213 watts):
Duration: 1:05:19
Work: 836 kJ
TSS: 99.1 (intensity factor 0.954 )
Norm Power: 220
VI: 1.03
Distance: 24.814 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 608 213 watts
Heart rate: 147 173 160 bpm
Cadence: 32 131 90 rpm
Speed: 0 28.6 22.8 mph

12th fastest bike split in my AG! But I could have/should have gone harder. The speed is fast, and it's close to my fastest bike split every, and about 4 minutes faster than last year, but I'm still not happy with it. Or at least not as happy as I could be. I think I could have pushed out a 1:02-1:03.

Rode pretty much alone. There was a guy on P3C that I played leapfrog with a bit at the beginning. I dropped the hammer on one of the longer straights and never saw him again. Eat my felt!

I rode over the speedbumps this year. Last year, I almost crashed while going around them. Going over was definitely easier/faster. I just lifted up a bit from the saddle, and I didn't even have to come out of aero.

Only got passed by a few people, like 2 or 3. Passed close to 20, mostly from the first wave of 30-34 which started 5 minutes before my wave did. In front of them were the pros, which I didn't have any chance of catching. :)

Ride faster.

Good T2.

Took my feet out of shoes on the cobbles. Did a running dismount, and nipped two more guys heading into T2.

Didn't pass up my spot like I did at lonestar. Got bike racked fast, socks on, shoes on, picked up visor and race belt and was gone.

Change legs in T2, so that I can actually run.

Saw a few other BTers. Some I was able to say hi to. Others I couldn't muster the energy to speak, so I just waved or something. Sorry, I wasn't ignoring ya, I was just suffering pretty bad. :)

Summed up with one word. Ow.

Mile Lap Time HR Max Avg Min
1 0:08:05.1 156 158 156 154
2 0:07:50.9 159 162 160 156
3 0:07:54.2 160 163 161 158
4 0:08:08.9 163 163 160 158
5 0:08:07.3 164 165 162 159
6 0:08:13.0 161 166 162 159

2 0:02:45.3 133 169 160 135

After seeing 8:05 at the first mile I knew I was in trouble. My legs were just lead weights. I felt like I could barely move them. This run really really hurt. It was good mental training to not let myself quit. I refused to slow, and kept pushing, despite severely wanting to walk. It was hard to muster any kind of effort at the end, so it was a good thing I was alone in the chute as I don't think I could have reacted to a pass there.

My worst run at an oly in a while. Though even blown up legs still managed to turn out ~8:00/mile pace.

I did manage to at least be in transition as the winning pro males finished. I was well onto the run course ( about at mile 1 ) when I saw the first woman pros. If the pro male winner hadn't set a new course record, I would have been out of transition before he finished. He went 1:46, and had a 15 minute head start. Heh.

Spend the day before resting more. I thought I was going to have a restful day, but ended up spending more time on my feet than planned. Oh well. I was also coming off a solid 3 week block of hammering my legs pretty good.

This wasn't one of my a-races, and I knew that even a mediocre ( for me ) race would get me qualified for Nationals.

Trying not to beat myself up too much over the ( lack of ) run performance here, as I didn't expect to PR on the run at all.

The infamous ice cold towel from heaven.

Walked around a bit, got some gatorade and water. Wandered back up the course a bit to cheer in some BTers who I knew were hot on my heels: bostic, rkreuser, kendall, marmadaddy, jparr, (brian?).

Went and got massaged. Then got some food. Hung out at the BT banner and gabbed with other members of the swim, bike, and detonate on the run crew. Bostic, Kreuser, and myself are the inaugural members. Heh.


Not following pre-race plan the day before and having tired legs.

Probably cost myself from breaking 2:20 at this race. Darnit. :(

I did manage to qualify for Nationals nonetheless, so the day was not lost.


Always a good time.

The timing is always spot on. No worries about things starting on time. The transition area, while huge, is very well managed and workable.

Last two years they used neoprene chip straps. This year, were the disposable plastic straps. I hate those. Would have brought my own strap had I known. Will make sure to do that in 2008.

This race just gets bigger and bigger with BTers every year. It's a great time to hang out with old friends, and make some new ones. The weekend always ends too soon.

Definitely a race that is permanently embedded on my calendar.