This was a very rough swim start; the first 150m or so was lots of contact with everyone fighting over the same space. Since most athletes were going to swim around the same time, it took a while for things to spread out. I felt really good throughout the swim and was able to find several draft targets and move up some on the second loop. I bridged up to a group with about 200m to go as I wanted to be in transition with them. Also, on the final leg, a pod of dolphins swam right underneath me which was really cool.

Start closer to the front to get a better draft.

T1 was solid; moved well and got onto the bike quickly. May have pulled too hard getting my feet out of my wetsuit. I was in transition with many athletes and was in a good position to get in a solid pack on the ride; was ready for a great ride.

Use less force pulling my feet out of the wetsuit.

Just as I was putting my feet in my shoes my calves cramped up; right wasn't too bad but the left was terrible. As a result, I couldn't go with any of the groups and ended up riding solo for the first three laps. I tried to go with a couple of groups but everytime I pushed at all, my left calf knotted again and it was back to soft pedalling. The wind was terrible solo with averages of 23-24km/h but then 45-46km/h coming the other way. Finally, with just over a lap to go, I was caught by two other Canadians and a USAF athlete; I was able to hang on for most of the last lap and then the group broke up and two of us worked back to transition.

Not sure; wish I was with a group and my calves hadn't cramped. It was brutal to see all my expectations evaporate as the groups pulled away and I just couldn't go with them. There was a pack that I probably could have bridged to with several athletes I had been riding with all week who went under an hour for the course...

Very good; this, the swim and T1 were definitely highlights from the race.

Nothing

Getting off the bike, I knew a solid run would see me meet my "bad day" expectation of 2:15; I headed out and knew that it just wasn't going to happen. The cramps that I thought I had finally taken care of on the bike were threatening to come back; anytime I upped the effort my left calf was on the verge of cramping and I just didn't have any the gear that I needed to run what I wanted. I just gutted it out and kept moving but definitely not the run I was looking for either.

Not sure; again, the calf cramping was the biggest issue.

Nothing


Cramping.


This was my first draft legal race and I was hoping to go sub 2:10 with a "bad day" goal of 2:15. I wasn't even close and it was incredibly frustrating to fall so far off of what I expected. Between the cramping and riding solo for most of the race, I guess I'm happy with a new PB for the distance but not the way I wanted to get it. The swim and transitions were solid but the bike and run were not even close to my potential.