I started in the front on the outside and stayed on the outside the whole time, as there were 150 swimmers in the wave. The water was very warm, and it was pretty easy to stay on course. There were a few bumps on my feet, but nothing to worry about.

I paused to encourage a struggling swimmer from a previous wave, and slowing down caused someone behind to bump into my feet. I'm not even sure if the guy heard me. Oh, well. Live and learn.

There was a BT thread this week about keeping it simple for sprints, and I made an effort to do that. I brought a 5 gallon bucket to sit on while putting on socks, shoes and HRM strap, which worked out well.

The HRM took a few seconds to get on, but more than anything, looking at my HR during a race is likely to cause me to push harder, so I'll keep doing it.

This was my best ride yet. For some reason, I kept telling myself I was a 'cold blooded killer' all through the bike ride. The way they mixed ages and genders throughout the waves made for passing a steady stream of people, though, and seemed like a lot of folks weren't clear on rules and etiquette, namely, staying to the right. I had to call out several times, "On your left!" and/or "Stay to the right!" One guy was drafting on me for the second half of the race. I told him to stop drafting after a while, and a judge told him to drop back, later on, but he stuck there. At least he wasn't in my age group. We were racked near each other, and I beat him out of transition and never saw him again, so no big deal.

Despite having my best speed yet in a race, I wonder if I could have squeezed a little more out of my legs. I also had my best run, though, so I'll say I played it well today.

This was a fast T2, due to the advice on the thread. Helmet and glasses were off before I got to the rack. I put on my shoes and grabbed my shirt and hat, which contained my race belt, and I started the run, putting those items on as I went. It gave me a minute to get my legs under me while shaving some T2 time.

Nothing.

My goal for this race was to push from the beginning on the run, and my mile splits are my fastest yet. I've noticed,this summer, that many people who pass me have longer strides, so I lengthened my stride and went to an out-1/in-2 steps breathing cadence. I sped up throughout the run and finished strong.

Despite having my best per mile time today, I still think there are levels of pain and suffering that I can push through to run faster. I went into the season thinking I'd be doing Oly's, but the season has caused me to believe my real strength will be in the sprints. I'll continue to train as I have, at volumes that would allow an Oly effort, but I'll focus more on speed throughout the spring and summer.

Walking around with son, successfully locating lost cell phone, getting my gear packed up and helping him get ready for his race. There was lots of gatorade, .5 banana, and a yogurt with some bars later. I did get in a full round of stretching interspersed here and there.


It was a really good race with perfect weather conditions. Since I didn't puke at the end, I suppose there was deeper to dig. I'll work on that.


This is the first year of this race, and considering that, they did a great job. The course is great. I wish they had done waves by age and gender, as this helps with the flow of traffic, particularly on the bike. As it was, you couldn't tell if someone in your AG had started with you, ahead of you, or behind you. For the kids race, they really need to have separate awards categories for girls and boys, as the girls didn't get ANY awards. I'm sure they'll get an earful about that, though.