The swim portion of the tri went pretty well. Though the water was cold, I managed to warm up quickly. I started in the middle back of the wave and felt very comfortable there. I weaved through a few people around the first bouy and then fell into a groove. I managed to find a few people to pull behind in the middle section of the course. This is probably the best i have done at swim drafting. It was over quickly and was very surprised when i looked at my watch and say around 30 minutes when i got out of the water. It took a while to run up the beach, but i felt pretty good overall

It went really well. I have no complaints

I was very deliberate and took my time in T1. I wanted make sure I followed the plan and executed it properly. It went pretty smoothly

I could have moved a little faster, but I wanted to make sure a got everything right

Ok.. here it is... where all hell broke loose. The first 28 miles were great... I couldnt have asked for a better start to my ride. I was easily averaging over 21 mph. then... the unthinkable happened. I was approaching a 90 degree right hand corner and I slowed down. I looked back and saw someone closing in on me on the outside. I was still ahead of him as we entered the corner but as we were exiting the corner, he was beside me. I had to cut in to avoid hitting him and my front tire slipped out and I went down... hard. I hit the ground and the slid off into a ditch. I got up quickly and was very angry. I threw my helmet off and assessed the damage. I was bleading from my both legs, my knee, both hands, my right arm and my right shoulder. Luckily there was sheriff's deputy at the corner and he called the ambulance. I just wanted them to check me out and make sure I was ok to keep going.

While i waited for the ambulance, I checked out my bike. The shifter on the left aerobar was bent and really scraped up (i am still trying to figure out how it was the left one and not the right one) and the front tire was flat- when sliding a piece of gravel had embedded itself in the sidewall. I had time to change the tire before ambulance arrived. I went into the ambulance and the paramedics started cleaning out my wounds. There was alot of gravel in my right arm and it took a bit to get it out. They asked me if i wanted to continue and i said yes so they bandaged me up and made me sign a waiver saying I refused a ride anywhere. I would like to thank those guys for helping me out. They were really nice.

After I got bandaged up I got back on my bike and started again. The first thing that happed was I dumped my chain when trying to shift into the big chainring. (When the shifter got bent, it must have messed up the cable tension) I continued on and passed many people and kept up a decent pace but not nearly what i was going before the fall.

I did have my whits about me enough to stop my Garmin after the wreck (a minute or 2 after the wreck) and restart it when i got back on. I had a time of about 2:44 which was right around my goal time

Funny side note--- I found it really funny when spectators would cheer for you and then notice my road rash and cringe--- I dont how many times are heard "Yeah! Way to go! Good Job!! Oooh!?

Well... if i had it to do over again, I would probably not wreck... Though I dont think the wreck was entirely my fault, I probably could have slowed down a bit more in the corner and it would have resulted in a safer exit to the corner

I managed to even do a flying dismount at the end of the bike ride. I stood in transition for a moment contemplating whether to go on... I decide i paid for the race, drove the 7.5 hours up here, I might as well finish it.



not hesitated

Houston we have a problem........ I ran the first mile at a 9 minute pace then my knee started to hurt. The knee that had scraped on the ground was probably bruised. I decided to walk for a bit and then try and run. As I was walking there were several others giving me pep talks and saying i was "hardcore" This was great. Many times i would start running again when I got those words of encouragement.

One person i wanted to acknowlege was Ajotto. I saw him pass and noticed his Tri Donkai shirt. I recognized it and rsn up to him and asked if he was on BT. Of course he said yes, so we ran together. He ran with me for about 5 miles and we talked and we kept each other going. As i started the second lap, I knew there was a storm brewing inside of me. With the wreck, I had gotten my nutrition out of whack and I wasnt feeling really well. The sun was beating down by this part of the day and about 3/4 of a mile into second lap, I let Ajotto go ahead. I thanked him for running with me and watched him run ahead. The rest of the run (I use that term loosely) was walk/jogging while fighting a bruised knee, cramping legs and the searing pain of salty sweat seaping into my open road rash. Just before the last turn around I ran into Running Jayhawk and we talked for a moment.

The last 3 miles, my goal was to run for a 1/2 mile then walk 1/2 a mile. I kept that up and it seemed to make the last part go by faster

I could have run faster, but after the wreck, my goals for the race changed dramatically. More explanation a bit later

I walked to the med tent and had them redress my wounds. They were very friendly and I thanked them all for their help.


Obviously it was the wreck that was the biggest contributing factor, but I am pretty much over that. I eluded that my goals changed dramatically after the wreck. I wanted to finish around 5:30 which was well within my capability, but after i lost out on that chance, my goal was simply to finish... Though I did post the times here, I really dont care about them. I am just glad i finished. I would have regretted it if i would have dropped out. Next time I will go for time. I just was out there on the run to enjoy the experience (albeit a painful one)


It was an ok race. The swim was short, but an inaccurate swim seems to be par for the course for me this year. The bike course was flat and fast but there were some pretty rough roads and tight corners. The run was beautiful, especially when you were overlooking Lake Michigan. The start was delayed but there was that was obviously a safety issue with the fog. The expo wasnt great (I was very confused when i got to the aisle that contained all the boats... I guess the hall was double booked?)

I may do this race again, but i may try some closer to home next year(like IMKS 70.3) We will just have to see what next year looks like