Swim felt good. Water was very warm compared to the air. Coming into the race, 59 sounded very cold, but compared to the air at 46, it was a welcome relief.

Made a concerted effort to relax and keep my heart rate down and did so with no problems. At the 1/2 way point, there was some surge/swell and I got a mouthful of water. Not usually a problem for me, nothing to worry about, it's just water. Into the glare coming back was a problem again, so I took a few seconds to get my bearings and got back in the groove. Swam along the docks at the end, then out of the water and into T1.

Nothing. I treated this swim like a mild workout and I think it paid off. I would have liked to have taken a minute or two off, but it would not have been worth the required effort.

I ran the chute, but walked once inside the transition area. Last time I did this race, I was very frantic in my transitions and never got my HR down. I took my time, got everything how I wanted it, and left when I was finished. Ate 1 GU, drank some Infinit and water, and two Endurolytes. I think I was only 40 seconds slower, but much more relaxed when I left.

Nothing.

Starting on the bike feeling good, riding very easy for the first portion of the ride. I wasn't look at MPH the entire time, but I hit the 10 mile mark at about 30 so I had an idea of where I was. My nutrition felt spot on. Drink of Infinit every 10 mins, one Endurolyte every 20 (2 if heavy sweat), and Gu every 30 minutes. It gave me something to look forward to every 10 minutes.

I knew the back 1/2 was hard for me, so I took it easy. I saw the first big hill about 2 miles before and immediately shifted down to rest the legs even more. In 2007, my quads locked up on this hill, I had to walk the second half, and never recovered. I was not going to have that happen again. I hit the hill nice and rested and powered to the top without any cramps. It felt awesome. The subsequent hills were not a problem after that mental boost. I continued to ride easy and stay with my nutrition plan. Little headwind coming in, but nothing unexpected.

Train for faster flats. I could have taken a few minutes off, but lacked confidence for the ensuing run.

During pre-race briefing, we were told no shoes could be left on the bikes, so I left mine on. Once off the bike, I walked to my rack and very calmly changed out my gear. All to keep the HR down. I was on schedule to eat a GU and take a drink, so I did, loaded up my pockets with GU and Endurolytes, and jogged out feeling great.

Find a way to carry my pills.......more to come.

Left T2 feeling great. Mile one was about 8 minute pace, but the sand portion sucked. At about mile 2, I was looking for my Endurolytes (salt pills), but found they had come out of my pocket. I knew I would be OK for a while, but the cramps would definitely come soon. I began drinking Gatorade hoping to help out, but soon was sloshing alot. My pace was staying under 9 min/mile for the first half and I was still feeling really good. On the second sand run, I felt the calf twinge and knew it was coming.

After the turn around, I kept a run/walk going and maintained an OK pace, always watching the clock to see if 6 hours would happen. I had 42 minutes to go the last 3 miles and figured I should be OK unless a major meltdown occurred. I had to walk the sand, because any deviation in my stride caused an immediate cramp.

On the last sand run, I moved off the trail to allow the "runners" to pass and the hamstring pulled tight. I was envisioning myself dragging myself the last 1/2 mile on my hands and knees to finish under 6, but didn't need to. I stretched out the hammy and calves, and went continued the run/walk to the chute.

About 200 yards from the finish, both calves locked up again. I felt like an idiot, but had to walk to stretch them out. Very cool spectators started screaming as soon as I walked, quick shot of adrenaline and I was able to pull it together and run across the line.

Not lose my nutrition!

Find my buddies, stretch it out, off to a local brewery for pizza and a couple of beers. Sleep in the car on the way home.


Only problem was the last hours nutrition. I could have probably taken another 10 minutes off my time, but I'm very happy to have been under my 6 hour goal.