It didn't take long for this race to start going south! About 100 yards into the swim I got kicked so hard right in the eye, that I thought I was going to go out for a second or two. Fortunately, the guy's foot hit right on my goggle, otherwise it probably would have really hurt something. As it was, I saw stars for a bit and had to stop and collect my wits for a minute. Got started again but my rhythm had definitely gotten thrown off. Probably got another 200 yards and a guy cut across in front of me and kicked me right in the nose! I was thinking "you've got to be kidding me!" My eyes were watering and my nose was bleeding just a bit. Fortunately, again, I was right near a marker buoy so I stopped and hung on to it for a minute until I could regain my senses.
Finally got a little clear water and by the first turn buoy I was feeling better. Nose still hurt but I had a bit of rhythm back. The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful compared to the first few hundred yards. Got around the second turn buoy and was feeling quite a bit better so cranked it up a bit and headed on in.

Not get beat to a pulp!

About 10 seconds faster on T1 than last year. Glad my nose had quit bleeding by then!

Not much.

The bike went pretty well this year. Started out a little slow, as it had rained during the swim and my glasses were all fogged up and wet. Just let the wind dry them out though, which didn't take long. The rain had the roads soaked though which made the cornering and descents very tricky. This is a pretty technical course anyway but with wet roads it was pretty hairy in places.
Started passing people right away and ended up moving from 311th place after the swim, up to 119th place overall, 81st on the bike. The big climb went well, with only three guys passing me on it. Felt pretty strong going over the steepest top part so that was reassuring. There's a bit of a descent after the long climb, with some pretty good corners on it and these were downright scary with the wet roads. 30mph into a wet corner is not for the faint of heart!
I'd been playing cat and mouse with a guy who was really skinny and thus able to climb faster than me. However, I'd get him on the downhills. Kept on him until the last long downhill, when I passed him toward the bottom and then I put the hammer down on him. Never saw him again until after the race!
Kept a good pace back into town and finished off feeling pretty good.

Not much, maybe push just a bit harder on the big climb.

The transition area had gotten torn up pretty good with all the rain last night and this morning so it was a muddy mess at T2. I tried to wipe my feet off as well as I could but didn't get it all and this would come back to haunt me later.

Cleaner feet.

Felt pretty decent right from the start. Hit the 1 mile mark at 8:10 and held that pace for the rest of the run. Saw my brother and a lot of my Tri-Fusion teammates during the first 3 miles. John was looking strong as always when he went by.
At about the 3 mile mark I started feeling a hot spot under the arch on my right foot. This bloomed nicely and by 4 miles was really starting to irritate me. By 5 miles I was not having nice thoughts about the mud in transition! I knew I was getting a huge blister but there was nothing to do about it except run faster so I could get done sooner! The last 1/2 mile was pretty fun as a lot of my teammates were out cheering, some with an electric megaphone that nearly deafened me as I ran past! Saw John about 100 yards from the finish and got a high-five...well, maybe a medium-five as I didn't feel like lifting my hand any higher than necessary by that time! Finished up with a PR by around 2 minutes 20 seconds!

Not get a blister but I can't say that slowed me down much if any. It hurt but so what...kept my mind off my tired legs maybe!

Took my shoes off right away so the blister would quit hurting. Chatted with John and some of my friends, went and got some watermelon and a drink, cleaned up transition.
Then hung out until the awards to pick up my 2nd in AG award.


Being old! Well that and getting beat senseless on the swim and wet roads. Sure made for an interesting morning! Ended up with an AG medal, a black eye, a sore nose, and some tired legs.


My bike computer read a little less than the advertised distance, but it did for IMCDA as well. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to whoever measures it as this is now a USAT approved race. The distances should be accurate. Lots of out of town folks here this year which was nice. Even someone from Tampa, FL. I was wondering how that flatlander enjoyed the hills!