Worried about crowding, but it worked out. Was passed a few times and then forced to slow down, I shouldn't have let a couple of people pass me, because I just slowed down even more. Finished with lots of energy...never felt tired...albeit a little bored.
Good swim, could have gone faster, always could go faster.
One of the last ones out of the pool.
Note that I was in the 2 heat this year...considerably faster heat than the first one, I was in last year. Ironically, I was about 10 seconds slower this year.

Swim faster Always swim faster.
This time I did a significant warm-up, maybe about 400 metres.
This is probably why I felt so comfortable and did not have my HR spike in the first 150m.
While I was swimming, I was also thinking, "I'm built for distance and comfort, not speed..."

I always take my time during T1.
I dry my toes and make sure my socks fit right...I don't want to stress about them during the run.
I didn't put my helmet on first this time, but my shoes. Still got my helmet before I touched the bike...just did it a little backwards. A little different for me.
Good transition, albeit a little slow.

Maybe not take so much time, but I was determined to enjoy myself.
I ran to my bike, which I have never done before. It was all good.

I chose a place to drink my Hammer goop and supplemented with aerobottle water just after that. This was just after the turnaround where there was a stiff wind and there wouldn't be lots of competition to pass me.
Everywhere else I accelerated (standing) around corners and used my aero advantage to pass a number of people.
I was most happy to have a better bike time than Enio (by 25 seconds). He is a very strong and accomplished cyclist who I respect!
This was a great, strong ride. I was only passed by one Junior (he won with an overall time of 1:03 and a bike time of 35 min!
I really enjoyed this ride and my goal was to beat my time from last year and my average speed. I beat average speed by 2k/hr and my time bettered by 20+ seconds race time and roughly 2min (when you take out transition)
I'm still smiling.


Maybe go a little faster on first lap, but as I noted earlier, the strategy I took may have helped later in the run.

I think this was a perfectly executed ride. Passed lots of people, including Enio. Felt strong and confident.
Sadly, there are no pictures of me riding...hmmmmpf!

Need I say more.
I rocked this transition.
I was out of it before I even realized.
Top of left foot was still incredibly sore from last week's half marathon. I had a moment of panic as I started running, wondering if I would be able to continue, but I think I saw something shiny and that distracted me.

NOTHING!
Perfect transition.
Just have to run faster.
I deliberately started slowly and sped up.

This was a good, strong run. I'm surprised I wasn't faster. This was about 2 minutes slower than last year. I pushed hard, especially near the end - heading Starcorp's advice.
I was passed only by one stinkin' junior! I zoomed in and passed other runners - I've never done this before. Felt strong going up the hill and almost felt refreshed at the turnaround.
This was a good run.

Go faster...that should be my mantra.
Everything else was executed perfectly. I started slowly, not blowing up, and then progressively sped up.
I didn't have a lot left after the final sprint - which I had to extend because they moved the finish line!!!
That is a good indication that I didn't leave anything on the course!

Lots of smiling. Ate some oranges and bananas. Stretched a little shook lots of hands, put my stuff away then helped race site tear down.
Then went to awards ceremony and had lunch. Guess what, I didn't win! ;)
I don't care. I loved this day! It was a great race.


I beat my mental self here. Not bad self talk holding me back. I just went all out. Could have gone faster, maybe. But I did everything according to plan and even improved my bike time - and that was one of my goals. I don't think my foot pain was in issue, but it was in the back of my mind.
I didn't do a lot of sprint-specific training, lately because of my flu, and the Half Mary previous week and the week riding in the mountains two weeks before that. All that may have effected the run time.
No excuses, I rocked this race and am still smiling!


The night before the race I started putting my race kit together. I was a little stressed. I usually do this two nights in advance.
I very quickly realized that there was little to put together.
I was surprised.
I must be becoming a veteren. I thought about this.
Packing and planning was so automatic.
I had a phenomenal race. My time and placing wasn't where I hoped, but my performance and my feeling exceeded my expectations.
The weather was great, the racers and volunteers were fantastic.
This was a good race.