i decided to go with the swimskin instead of the full wetsuit. the pros were forced to do the same but other than them i would say 90-95% of the AGers went the wetsuit route. for me i get really warm on the swim and its just not worth overheating to gain a few seconds to a min. after getting in the water i knew i made the right call. swim start was a little different b/c everyone lined up along the right bank and then proceeded to run along the bank for about 50-100m (some people say 200m but it wasnt that far at all). unfortunately if you wanted to contend in your AG you needed to follow suit and run with the boys. i ran for maybe 50m before i had enough of the rocks and saw there was a current to the left following the runners. so with that i dove in and managed to swim past a large group of folks still trying to run along the bank. once in the water the swim came easy. i didnt try to draft anyone and instead swam my own pace. i did watch folks to the left of me and would push some if they looked like the were pulling away. my sighting was pretty good and i managed to swim straight lines to the buoys. i did however catch a breaststroker as i rounded to 2nd buoy and managed to catch a swift kick right on the forehead. that baby stopped me in my tracks for a brief moment and then i plowed forward again. after the wakeup call the swim was pretty basic with a nice pace all the way to the last buoy. after a left around the last buoy i really pushed hard for the finish which is usually a problem for me. i managed to pass i few more on my way and then wobbled out of the water. i always hate that disoriented feeling when you stand up out of the water. this was a PR swim for a HIM. goal was to swim 28min. goal accomplished.

nothing. would have been happy if everyone would have swam the full distance but i really dont think the bank running really made much of a difference other that saving your arms a few strokes. maybe in the future i will target faster individuals and keep them on my left to help pace me.

i suck at these. i am a person who checks and then double checks. after taking my time getting my crap together i decided to run with my shoes on. i am a wuss with soft feet and this place has the roughest asphalt of all time. i also hate that you start with steep hill within the first 100m so there isnt time to jacked with getting your feet in your shoes.

have a sense of urgency

did well climbing 1st 2 hills out of the park and could tell right away the winds were going to be an issue. as soon as we exited the park and headed towards the canyons it was headwind city. the thing i kept thinking was, "you are going to fly on the way back in!" after battling the headwinds for a while we made a right and headed towards a large downhill and then climb. i was a little tentative on the downhill b/c i was flying at 30+ with a crosswind hitting my disc and causing the bike to feel loose. after riding the brake some i flew up the first hill. after the turnaround we headed back to the canyon and thats when the rain introduced itself. at that point i was in full granny mode when i went downhill. if you have ever rode with me you know i can clmib fast, hold my own on the flats, and give up some massive ground on the descents. i hate barreling downhills so this was the worst possible scenario for me. i knew once the rain started my bike goal was in serious jeopardy. so i pushed on and gave it a strong effort on the flats whether i had a head or tailwind. the next 2 descents i encountered only got worse. these babies were not only steep but the either s-curved down or spiraled down. the thing that really blew me away was the people flying down these hills with caution to the wind. and they were not just men. i had several women put me to shame on the descents to which i thought to myself, "are these people insane or are you just a f'n you know what?" i decided the other people were insane. after all the drama of the hills i finally caught the big tailwind back to the park which lasted for 10-15miles. i really tried to make up time here by giving the pedals everything i had. once i hit the park it was another headwind and a few downhills that took forever. i did manage to take my first leak on the bike which was quite nasty. that crap goes everywhere and i dont think my trivents will ever be the same again. oh well, i am sure that saved me a few minutes of port o potty time in T2. as i rode in to T2 is was such a relief to get off my bike with no spills or technical difficulties. i saw amber cheering for me which helped charge the battery as i dismounted. nutrition went well with 600cal of infinit and 200cal of gels. goal was around 2:32 (22mph) but that wasnt going to happen on this day.

be a bit more aggressive on the downhills and push harder on flats

once again i suck at these. it started with my sad tip toe trot to the rack b/c the ground was killing my pretty little feet. after racking the bike i wasted 45sec putting on my socks (i use injinji toe socks (look like gloves on your feet) b/c my toe really get trashed on the run) and then took a little bottle of water to drink on for the first mile.

sense of urgency

this was my saving grace and helped makeup for a poor bike. right out of the chute i was moving quickly and clicked off the first 3 miles at a 6:30ish pace. in the first 3 miles i think i passed 10 people and i was feeling good. i brought a small fuelbelt water bottle with me to drink some water at the start and i also had a flask with 3 gels watered down. after 3miles if was a hard right and then up a steep ass hill. after shuffling up that baby i got back into stride and hit the first downhill with a full head of steam. i flew down the first hill and picked off a few folks as i headed back up another hill. once up that hill its a 1.5mile out to the turnaround and then back the same way. on the way out i continued to pass folks with a nice stride. once at the turnaround i saw a local J&A guy in my AG that stopped for water. at that point i floored it by him only to hear his cup hit the ground and then a fews huff and puffs as he jumped on my heels. smart move on his part since we were about to run 1.5miles into a stiff headwind. i knew this guy was about to catch a free ride at my expense b/c i wasnt about to slowdown so i decided to try a few tactics to drop him. the first 2 attempts were to hit the gas but it was tough with the wind and he managed to hang on. i could hear him behind me really sucking wind but none the less he wasnt falling off. my last move was to quickly cut to the left to the center of the road and again gun it. well that didnt work either. even though he hung on for the full ride i knew i hurt the boy. as we made a left to head back downhill i asked if he enjoyed the piggy back ride and he thanked me. he then said the accelerations i made caused his legs to cramp so i then proceeded to put the nail in his coffin by flooring it downhill again. once we hit the flat and headed back uphill he was reduced to walking. i proceeded back up the hill and passed another guy in my AG and then into the park for the last downhill. once again i floored it down the hill and rounded the corner to see another local J&A guy in my AG up ahead. we had 3 miles left so i wanted to catch a few more folks. i picked up the pace so i could go by the J&A guy quickly. he didnt try to hang on so i moved on to the next group. i passed 3 more folks but none were in my AG. i then hung on for the last 2miles and finished strong. i was really proud of this run and alot of it was due to cool weather which helped me not overheat. i was impressed with my ability to run fast downhill and to pass people with a purpose. i was also amazed that during the whole run not one person passed me and at no time did i feel like i was going to fast. it was definitely a breakthru run that i feel will serve me well in future races. my goal was 7min mile pace. goal accomplished!

not much. probably could have pushed a little harder on the last 3 miles to try for a sub 1:30 and catch another person in my AG.

caught up with a few guys and ate some watermelon and bagels. it was still rainy and cool out so i changed clothes and bailed. i was too cold to hang out and amber was feeling sick as well.


my fear of crashing on the bike


overall this was a HIM PR for me and i was very pleased with my performance. i considered this an A race in order to help gauge myself for IMAZ in nov. i really feel i am built for the long races and the longer the are the better. this race helped confirm my swim has come a long way and my run is really getting strong due to consistent training w/o injury. the focus on the next 4 months will be to maintain the swim and run and build on my bike.

congrats to the other finishers on this site. big congrats to my friend grant who qualified for kona in the 18-24 AG and turned down $400 to pass on his slot so the #2 guy could collect it. sorry buddy but you got to win that spot not buy it. and really big congrats to anysley o for making to journey from canada to tx and finishing strong. stick with it and you will thank yourself in the long run :)