Since this is a smaller venue, I have observed that many of the people racing are newer to triathlon and perhaps a bit more timid. So I started at the front on the inside, which would normal get me clobbered, but worked out nicely today. I had mostly clear water until we started catching up to the previous wave.

I focused on taking nice long strokes and pulling/pushing hard. Smooth & long & steady. At one point I got tangled up with a big guy. Not big as in fat. Big as in "I wonder which position he played for the 49ers" big. Not that kind of guy you want to tango with in the water. After a small struggle we parted ways. I swam until my hands touched sand and then bolted up and out.

Nuttin. This is my fastest tri pace to date and a decent improvement over the same course back in June.

The run from the water to transition is a little long. I heard some people joking that this was a swim-run-bike-run event. My wetsuit came off easily and I was out of there in no time.

This was the first time I left my shoes clipped to my bike and put my feet in while riding. That worked out nicely.

Maybe run faster through transition.

I got up to speed and put my feet in pretty quickly. Then I focused on keeping my cadence up and not dropping speed. This was tough when the headwinds hit, but I kept telling myself I couldn't go below 18mph. A dropped below a few times, but made up for it when the wind was blocked by homes/trees.

Not a single girl passed me on the course, and only a handful of guys sped by. It was fun to be passing people. It made me feel fast, although after looking at overall results I maybe wasn't as fast as it seemed. It was fun though!

Do more sustained speed work in training. And ride more. I did a lot of riding earlier in the season, but I have only been on my bike twice since the half ironman. I just needed a break from the saddle, ya know? I was 7 seconds slower than the last time I rode this course, although I do think it was windier this time.

I took my feet out of my shoes as I came up to the dismount line. I went through my transition fast, although I did take some time to down some water. Then I stopped again at the aid station on the way out.

Not take so much time drinking.

I dropped down the most spots during the run, but it's the leg I'm the most proud of.
1) This was a 5k PR for me
2) For the first time ever I kept a sustained pace below 10:00 min/mi
3) I actually passed someone and was only passed by 2 women (1 was my coach and another was someone in my AG who got me 0.1mi from the finish line).

I am so proud of this run, but have so much room for improvement. I have my work cut out for me this winter!

Cheered on friends still coming in, walked around, tried not to puke.


My own mind. I had a poor attitude coming into this race, but am happy that I was able to turn it around and enjoy myself.


Fun race as always! Fast and beginner friendly course.