Best. Swim. Ever. Good start, good turns and good breathing. I didn't think much while in the water except to strategize a pass or what to do when being passed. Even pulled up to a breaststroke a couple of times to allow for some separation when being passed and to avoid a kick in the face. I know I tired in the middle, and really thought I was swimming in the 7s. But, it did feel fast and I thought I might have missed a lane. I got a glance at my watch during the run to T1 but didn't really look at my time until on the bike. I was pumped when I saw it.

Figure out what I did right and work to improve it. I've got to go even lower if I ever want a shot at top 5.

I took nearly a minute off of last year's time. Going sockless helped alot. I passed a lot of people just running out of T1.

Not sure; maybe learn to get into my shoes on the bike.

There was more rough road than smooth out there, but you could find a groove. My legs did feel a bit tired for most of the race as I went out strong and never really backed off. My goal was to improve on last year's pace, but it being a 19.5, I knew I didn't have much room to work with. Made it, though and improved my time by nearly a minute. I was never passed, either.

No more accelerade on the bike - even watered down. That stuff is just too thick. I spent a bit of time hacking out the nastiness and trying to get my throat clear without hurling. That's the last time I use this product during an event. Happened at Play-tri on the run and at soccer after drinking some at half-time.

First bike back so there was plenty of room to rack it up. Shoes and feet were already "body glided" so it made for quick work. Tossed it all in a pile quickly and was gone. Again, an improvement of :20 over last year.

I'm not sure what else I can do, exept maybe learn to dismount while leaving the shoes on the bike.

I knew I didn't have too much room for improvement over last year (24:31/7:53), but I managed to beat those times, too, by just over :30, dropping my pace to a 7:40. I slowed just a bit at the last water stop (garmin said 8:10) before kicking it in for the final push around the last cone and up the hill. I started accelerating in the final flat with a hard push to the finish. I was only passed by one 20 something dude. I briefly thought about trying to hang and pass him back, but decided to run my own race, not his. He was a good runner and pulled away so I'm glad I didn't chase him.

Not much, except for try to keep the HR lower and get the breathing deeper, if possible. I ran the race I'd been anticipating. Knowing the course really helps. Knee held up beautifully.

bananas, oranges, gatorade, hung with Jill and Tuttles to watch Angela finish and Ben and Loftin go out and then come home. It was a beautiful morning and I was thoroughly pleased with my performance. Jill did great, too so we had that to share.


training, HR and breathing. No wind or humidity to blame and no reason to, either.
Personal Best. Race. Ever.


Despite his hard-headed reputation, Jack puts on a good event at Benbrook. Could have used more portajohns and TP, but when alerted, more paper was provided. You just have to be used to the bare-bones post race food, although bagels would have been nice.