Had a good swim. Smooth with good form/breathing and a solid effort. Caught the guy in front of me in the first 50 and drafted for the first half of the swim. He didn't wait for me to pass at the walls (I never tapped his feet), so I actually went over his legs a couple times as he pushed off to go under the rope. Time was just what I'd expected, once you factor in the distance to the timing mat.

Chris (camy) says I was going just the right speed for him to draft me the entire time. Glad I could help. :P

My open turns were pretty smooth and fast, but I bet flip turns would be faster

Not a bad T1, but not my best either. (7th in AG) Feet didn't slip smoothly into shoes on first try, but I did manage to put on HRM and race belt while slipping feet into shoes. Went sockless this race, which saved a few seconds. I was second rack from the beginning, so I had one of the longest runs with my bike to reach the mount line. However, I had a good jump onto the bike and passed a couple folks that were slow to mount.

In the end, I never looked at my HRM once during the race. I might have gone without it completely.

The course itself is only moderately challenging. It can be a fun, quick course which rewards good cornering. However, today it was an exercise in "Don't crash!". The winds were brutal and the pavement was slick. I found myself taking corners ridiculously slowly and still feeling the bike slide around a bit. The wheel cover I was using wasn't helping during those turns, but if the rear disk really is greater advantage the more sidewind you're encountering, then I'm sure it was a net benefit throughout the course.
As an early swimmer (#29) there weren't that many people ahead of me to chase. I caught a few folks within a couple miles, but it was mostly solo the first half. Though, on the longer sections, I could glimpse someone up ahead just before the road would curve. That was a nice rabbit.

About the halfway point, someone passed me with a "Keep it up, Dave!" He was sporting my age group, but he had started 10 people behind me. Yikes! That was a nice lead he had on me and motivation to chase him down (or at least stay close), which I did. The second half was more into the wind, so I never felt I could pass and drop him, but I stayed about 20-25 feet behind him the entire rest of the way. He's was the only one to pass me, and we passed a few more before the end. As much as people after the race commented about how slow they felt into the wind, I never got that impression. My computer wasn't working, so I had no speed or cadence info at all the entire time. Maybe I was going slow but the wind whooshing past made it just seem like it was still fast.

(It was John Barr who passed me. Fastest rider in my age group with a full 1mph higher average overall. Means he was 2mph faster the first half of the course!)
I had rolled up arm warmers and put them on my aero bars thinking I could pull them on once I got going. Once I hit the road and realized I was being blown all over the place that idea was out the window, so I just tucked 'em in the back of my shorts. Fortunately, though the wind was still chilly, it wasn't as frigid as I was afraid, and I felt ok during the bike.

Pulling on arm warmers at race effort on the bike? I don't think so, even without the crosswind.

I would definitely have pushed faster through the corners if (1) conditions were better - less wind, no rain, (2) I didn't have bigger races to worry about later this summer, (3) I hadn't fallen the week before and was feeling gun-shy about landing on my battered body again, and (4) I had new tires. Mine desperate need to be replaced, and had flatted from a puncture just the day before. Lots of nicks and cuts on them.

Should have been a great T2, did all the normal things well. Two exceptions -
(1) was pulling off helmet as I was running and glasses fell off. Had to stop, walk backwards with bike in one hand/helmet in other and reach down to pick them up.
(2) remembered the arm warmers in my shorts as I started to leave my spot, had to pause and pull them out and throw them back at the rack. (5th in AG)

John (jcagg90) was there cheering as I ran out of transition.

Need to practice getting the tighter aero helmet off one-handed without losing the glasses.

Even as I was sprinting out of transition, there were four guys either immediately ahead or in the process of passing me. Turned out several were in my age group. We were moving at a decent clip, but there were definitely going slightly fsater.

I guess it was colder on the bike than I thought. Leaving transition and heading around the corner, a big portion of my right foot felt like it was a block of wood. I couldn't tell if there was something in my shoe or my foot was numb, so I took a second to stop and pull the shoe off. It was just a numb foot. Back to the chase...

That group stayed ahead of me and even pulled away a little in the first mile. Checked the watch -- 7:45. My legs were under me and I felt pretty good. Bumped the pace a little, and kept the gap to those guys pretty even. We hit a downhill before the park where a few of them tucked in behind each other, and I found myself wishing I was part of that paceline. But I also noticed that I seemed to be gaining on them, especially on the downhills.
By the start of mile 3, on the far side of the park, I was definitely making up ground and closing. On the uphill section just after that, I caught the group of three. That's when I got a little tactical -- I knew I was running the downhills better than they were, but there wss still a bit of uphill left. So I tucked in behind the last runner (the guy who had caught me on the bike) until we crested the hill. Then I made my pass and bumped up the pace, hoping that a solid, strong pass would discourage a hard chase on their part. I didn't look back, but I think it worked. Rather than get comfortable, I let my mind thing they were chasing, and I kept pushing. Hitting the last trail section again, I caught the 4th person who had left transition just ahead of me; plus I caught another going into the tunnel.

Coming out of the tunnel, you can see the finish but there's still a decent distance left (1/4 mile or so). Plenty of time to really kick up a solid finish.

This was a great run for me! I wouldn't check my shoe next time, though hopefully it won't be so cold at my next race

Found plenty of BTers to talk with -- Craig, Jen, Todd, Jenny, Chris, Tommy, Sue, and John. Also chatted with the group I'd been chasing/passed on the run.

Had considered running a second lap to get an extra workout. However, after cooling down and chatting with folks a bit, my hip started bothering me quite a bit, so I decided against the extra lap.

Did I mention it was cold?? I eventually went back to the car and switched into shorts, exercise pants, long-sleeved t-shrt, fleece, and jacket. Much better. I even grabbed some of the pizza that had arrived, because it was warm. Nothing like realizing you're having pizza at 8:40 in the morning.


Physically, this was a good race. Weather conditions, the state of my tires, and psychological impact of my recent crash all affected my bike handling/cornering, though.


Like most of the Ironhead races, it's a solid, well-executed event, even if the frills are minimal. The weather wasn't great this year, but I still think it's a pretty good course.

Lot's of BTers out there, too.