As soon as the gun went off, I felt super confident about the swim. I went right into my usual stroke and had a pretty decent swim with NO stops or hyperventilating. The water was pretty choppy so on the way out I had to lift my head up higher than usual to get a breath. On the way in, it was smooth sailing since I was breathing away from the direction of the current.

The bain of this venue is the LOOOOONG beach run to get back to transition. This year they put the timing mat at the waters edge so the T1 times included this hike. Ran/walked to transition and took an extra 30 seconds to put on socks this time since last race I blistered.

I tore up the bike leg. I passed more than 40 people and set a blistering pace in comparison to the dozens of training rides I've had on this course. Considering I drop to close to 10mph getting up the bridge, I estimate my time sans bridge was well over 20+. Smokin fast for this heavyweight.

Off the bike and into the Sauconys. Nothing special here.

At 255 lbs, this is obviously my weakest link. My typical stand alone 5K runs tend to be in the 33:00+ range with about a 10:30 average mile. I set out in what I thought was my typical race pace. I caught one of my competitors at the 1/2 mile mark and he mentioned to me that I was the only one to pass him all day in our AG. I realized then that I may have a chance at a decent podium spot. I stopped at mile 2 and walked for 30 seconds to get a drink. I was stunned to see my pace was flirting with 10:00 average and figured I must have not hit my watch when I left since I have never run that fast in a race. I felt great and fresh through the entire 5K and crossed the line a hair over 31:00...a new PR for ANY 5K including a stand alone and here I PRed as a tri leg. Amazing run for me!

Water and hugs from junior and the girlfriend.


Without a doubt the best race of my career with a PR in the bike leg and the 5K. I finished for the first time above the median (152 of 317) and finished 2nd in my AG. All of this at 10 pounds heavier than my race weight last year.