Wading wave start at a SMALL entry point. Took a good 100m or so to find decent clean water. Took another 50m to get my breathing rhythm going, it was off for some reason, maybe a little chill shock?

Once I hit the turnaround buoy, I really settled down and swam like I know how to swim, felt MUCH better.

Swim once or twice the week before the race? Calling this below average.

I was about 8 sec slower per 100 than my usual training times, but the first 100+m was really slow due to the crowding.

I usually take my time in T1, to make sure I get all the dirt and grit off my feets before heading out. There were LOOOOONG racks at transition, and I was smack in the middle.

Cap-n-goggs (Hi Tony!) off on the run up, wave to my gf on the way up. Dry off the feets, helmet on, shoes on and we're off! Run down my aisle tot he mounting point and let's get crackin'!

Practice the flying mount with the tri bike shoes I bought, but didn't take time to swap cleats and practice. That's about it.

Took a mile ro so for my legs to get warm. Once they got up to speed, it was all good. I was pushing 28-30mph on some parts and still getting passed by a few of the Big Boys. Crazy.

Pretty much everyone who passed me was on a tri bike, I'm still riding my roadie. That'll be changed before my next race in late May.

Ride ride ride. Do something other than MTB the week before the race.

Took care not to trip over anything on the narrow aisles of transition in my bike shoes. Rack her up, helmet off, shoes off, runners on and out we go!

Use tri shoes and work on the running mount/dismount.

Started out feeling okay (no rubber lags like last year), got up to speed decently. After about 1.5 miles, I decided my laces were a bit loose, so I stopped to re-tie. Good idea, felt much better after that.

I took a cup of water at the aid station, bad idea. That hit my stomach and got REALLY heavy. I think I walked twice after that because I was getting a stitch in my side, ugh.

Once I saw the turnaround, I managed to HTFU and finish strong, with a BIG sprint to the finish line. I think I could have cut 1:30 off this time if I had no stomach pains.

Not take a drink unless you really need it...

Dunno. My normal 5k training times are ~1:00 faster than this, so this is not bad for race day, seeing as I lost 1:00 re-tying my shoes. Factor that in and I'm 20 spots higher in the rankings.

Call it average since I finished STRONG once I got over my stomach/side issues.

Grabbed a bottle of water, a kiss from the gf. Walked around a bit to cool down. Talked to a couple people, then had to head out to get back home for my tennis match.


No tri training the week of the race. That and life getting in the way of training. Not much else to say.

I REALLY wanted that massage after the race, but ain't had no time.


Excellent race, especially for 500 racers in a smaller park.

I figure getting aero will help the bike time, and more running will help the running time. I deviated from my training the couple weeks prior to the race, so that was a bit of a factor too. Overall, I had a great time and a great race.

Pics coming.