Swim went really well (time is for 700m on my watch) I was expecting to swim 800m for some reason, not sure if they changed it. The swim didn't feel great but was quicker than I hoped. I was kind of surprised to find we were swimming in the outdoor pool, but the volunteers were great and they had heaters to keep us warm. The pool was really warm as well and the sun came out, so the weather was not an issue. I started near the front of heat #2f everyone in the group seemed pretty cool and we all agreed to let each other by if we caught up. I managed to catch 2 people and both let me by at the next turn, other than that pretty much got to swim on my own.

Try not to bump into the lanes lines, happened twice. Swim on the "wrong" side of the lane felt pretty weird.

Highlight of T1 for me was not being able to find the entrance to the change tent. After finding my way in did a towel off, put on a jersey, 3/4 length tights and arm warmers. I decided to put on my running shoes for the ~300m run to the bike, which worked great. During the run to the bike I put on my jacket, number gloves and hat.

Check out the transition route ahead of time. Try not to miss any pylons, almost missed the transition entrance and took someone behind me with me.

The bike was great, sun came out and it felt really quick. I happened to come out of transition just behind one of the Olympic athletes who was flying on the bike, I tried my best to keep him in sight, which really motivated me to go fast. The course is really fast especially on the slight downhill towards the turn, really felt good. Managed to have a few sips of water but never got around to eating the gel I had with me.

Not much, probably train more hills, I noticed everybody was passing me on the hill up 16th (including someone riding a mountain bike!) I told him way to go as he blew by me.

T2 was interesting... came into the dismount line WAY too quick and barely stopped in time. I was so focussed on stopping in time (and smiling at Mrs. mpete1313 that I didn't get my leg over the saddle in time and started to topple over.... Luckily, since I was literally at the line the marshall caught me / I fell on top of him long enough to get my foot unclipped. After that bit of adventure I managed to run in feeling pretty good but couldn't find my rack and shoes for a few seconds, eventually I spotted my spot and managed to find them and rack the bike.

Count the racks to the bike before the race...

The run felt good, warmed up during the 1st km and managed to keep up a good pace and turnover for the rest of the race. Pushed real hard for the last km and had a great sprint down the finish chute.

Try not to miss the finish mats... well I didn't quite miss them but had to side step / dance around the final pylons, much to the amusement of the spectactors / annoucer and my #1 fan who was taking photos.

Drank some water and watched some other finishers then went to Denny's for a huge greasy breakfest / lunch :)


Overall was great, I found out the next day that I won my age group which was a great surprise! Glad the crazy weather and snow held off until after the race was done.