I wanted to start really slow and get my breathing under control as I had a problem controlling this during last year's race. I focused on keeping my HR down, avoiding a lot of contact and not using my bail-out stroke.

I did OK considering my lack of pool time so far this season. I stayed calm and although my swim was slow, I left the water feeling pretty good.

There is a short run from the swim finish to transition. I felt like I was moving pretty fast but it's really hard to tell. I didn't have any trouble with my gear, the wetsuit came off fine, I put on my glasses and helmet and shoes, no problem. I didn have to mess around with the shoes a bit.

Tri cycling shoes would help probably. I need to practice transitions more, it was about 1 minute too long.

Felt OK on the bike but not really strong. Difficult getting through traffic as the road is very technical and the crowd was much bigger this year.

My bike fitness is pretty low right now but I did the same time as last year. Bike fitness was actually better last year as the race was in June rather than April.

Coming down the hill is tricky. With my road shoes, I can't undo the buckle one handed so I had to dismount at the top of the hill and remove my shoes. I ran down the very steep hill barefoot. I felt like I was going very slow.

Tri cycling shoes would help here a lot. Could probably save 15-20 seconds, at least. Running shoes and gear went on good.

Legs felt really heavy after the bike. Took a long time to feel right. I thought I would have ran faster. It takes me a long time to get loose. I had a little left for the final sprint and passed 5 or 6 people in the last 100 yards or so.

Run faster.

Walk around and drinking some water.


Lack of swim and cycle training. My first race of the season, 2 months earlier than last year. I wanted 1:15 and was close but not quite there.


The nasty hill right out of transition is the worst part of this race, it's a little dangerous. Otherwise, beautiful venue and well run as usual.