The swim was definately my best event of the day. After jumping in and sinking to nearly the bottom of the 12 foot deep diving well, I grabbed the wall, smiled for the camera (yes -- they had a photographer at the start) and waited for the GO. Started out and stroked comfortably, had pretty good turns -- a couple were not as deep as I should have been and I slid against the ropes,rather than clearing them -- nothing bad though, just slowed me down a second or two.

I stuck with my game plan, pushed a little, and felt really good on the swim. The actual swim time was probably 15-30 seconds faster though, as the chip mat was actually outside of the building. I remember looking at the pace clock on the wall when I was about 10 yards in and seeing the clock at 34:40 -- So I figured I started about 34:30 -- when I got out, it was at about 40:45-- So I figured about a 6:15. Either way, my 'official' pace of 2:08/100m was right in the neighborhood of where I expected. I'd seeded myself at a 6:45 so -- I'm good.

Swim faster. Stretch out my stroke a little bit better.

Slower than it should have been. Had a little trouble getting shoes on (plan -- get new shoes) -- I was also a bit more winded from the swim than I had expected to be, but no complaints.

New shoes will be helpful, so I can have the shoes mounted on pedals and put them on when I'm underway.

This course was BRUTAL for me today. The course itself is actually a really good, and fairly fast course. Official time has me a 15.1 mph, but according to my Garmin, the course was long at 12.56 miles as opposed to 12 miles published. Offical pace 15.1 MPH

The biggest challenge on this course today was the headwinds into the hilss. Looking at my pace overall today and by segment, I wasn't nearly as strong as I'd have liked to be, but the headwinds and hills REALLY beat me up. I wasn't alone though, a quick scan of the overall bike results indicate that EVERYONE (well nearly) was fighting the wind pretty good)

Another little problem today was that I had a hard time keeping my right shoe in the clip. Kept wanting to come out. I'll fix that though soon with new shoes. Was weird, problem is usually the opposite, I have a bit of a challenge clipping out...

No complaints though. It was a tough ride for me, but a good one, particularly given my lack of time in the saddle so far. That's gonna get fixed though starting this week.

I was determined to have a fun time today, so as I usually do (since I REALLY understand how important volunteers are having RD'd several races) I made it a point to thank the volunteers and police as I rode by. Might have cost me a couple seconds overall, but it's worth it in my book! Never forget to thank the vols -- it's tough! Talked to a few racers as I passed (which I actually did a few times) them and encouraged them, particularly the ones who were clearly struggling!

Much more time in the saddle. Gotta get out and ride more. Learn to ride aero. In the wind today that would have helped a fair amount I think

A lot slower than I should have been on this one. Couple of stupid (and I mean STUPID) mistakes.

1. Ran past my rack and had to go back looking for it.
2. Racked bike on the side opposite my transition gear (how STUPID!)-- Had to go out and around the rack (approx 30 feet) to get to my running shoes.

Other than that, the transition from bike shoes to running shoes, and getting back out on the run was fine.

Get to the right side of my rack, and remember where I parked.....DUH!

Run today, I was quite disappointed with. The first mile I felt pretty good, got a 9:36 which is about where I was expecting. Just past mile 1 though my lower back really started to hurt. It slowed me down and I walked just a few seconds at the turn around. Not more than 10 or so. Pace felt consistent, but I paid for it on the clock for walking that short distance.

Mile 3 was brutal for me today. My back was KILLING me. It forced me to walk a good minute, which was discouraging, but hey, you take what the course will give you and move on. It's fairly easy to see how the back was affecting my run, since I was able to kick back up to a 9:29 pace for the stretch home -- hurt like the devil, but I wanted to finish looking strong. (particularly for the fellow BT'er (Andy in particular) who were cheering me on! :)

Try to figure out what was causing the back to hurt. Push through and keep going.

Crossed the finish line, and started to look for the nearest garbage can to hurl... The nausea only lasted a minute or so, and I was fine. Got my finishers medal (nice touch) walked it off and hooked up with friends who had been jockstrapping me as well as John and Robert. Looked around for other BT'ers but didn't see them.

Walked around a bit, talked and then came home, took a shower, grabbed a hamburger (I was STARVED) and took a 2 hour nap


Lack of preparation on the bike was significant today. I really felt I could have done better there had I trained for that better.

Back pains during run. But that's what the course gave me -- no sweat

I guess the 25 or so extra pounds I'm packing since my last race had a little something to do with it as well. But that's something I'm TRYING to figure out how to get back in line.

Overall, I feel good about this race -- I'd hoped to be about 10 minutes faster, and I think I was conditioned for that. I was surprised a bit by the wind. Temp was perfect for me -- others complained of being cold, but I was really only chilly the first mile or so on the bike, which is normal.

This will be a good benchmark race for me since it's been 16 months, 30 lbs since my last race, where I did a remarkably similar course in 1:14. No complaints. As much as I wanted to perform better, I had a great time and enjoyed getting back into racing again. Many good lessons learned today

I'm looking forward to the next one. Now just got to figure out which one that will be.....

Now a note about BTer's -- They're AWESOME!! All of them I met at dinner last night and the others from the race this morning were GREAT! Made me feel right at home. That's one of the GREAT things about BT. You can find friends anywhere who enjoy our sport! Thanks for making me feel so welcome TX BTer's -- YOU'RE AWESOME!! I looking forward to many more events, get togethers, and even some workouts!




Race itself was very well run. Course was well marked, plenty of law enforcement and volunteers to help keep things running smoothly. Excellent volunteers in key places to make sure people when the right direction, etc. High marks in this department.

Registration - Fair. Could have been a bit more organized - Chip pickup was late starting, but that's ok.

SWAG -- Non existant. This kind of surprised me.

Finishers Medals -- Nice touch..

This race is one I'd do again without hesitation. The race itself was VERY well run, RD took time to walk along the pool while we were waiting to start and thanked us for participating.