Started out fine and ran into a logjam at the first buoy where we made a 90* turn left. It was a straight shot from there. After moving through that area I had a hard time getting into a rhythm. Not sure why. I swallowed a some water and spent some time hacking that up - had to make a few brief stops for that. Once that was resolved I started finally getting into a groove but knew I was in no man's land at that point. Just did what I could from there. Stood up and was disappointed with my time. Second race in a row.

I need to get my swimming figured out so I can get up and race with the people I want to be racing, where I'm more on par with my biking and running. This is keeping me too far behind from the start.

Learn how to swim.

Pretty uneventful. My wetsuit got stuck on my heels which very rarely happens. Outside of that, there weren't any real issues.

Just try and keep moving faster.

Once I was on the bike I started moving by people right away as I got up to speed. The roads were really smooth which was great. Came up on a D3 jersey and was surprised that it was Ricci (who passed me on the swim - he started in second wave, 3 minutes later). Passed a guy at one point who came back later and passed me back but then slowed down and pushed me out of a corner. I figured I'd pass him and drop him after that so I hammered on the pedals and was pushing over 300 watts for a bit, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up when I went by at about 33mph. I was told by the women's winner later that I was wrong and he just sat on my wheel the rest of the way. Asshole. But he probably got a few snot showers too so it serves him right. Anway, I kept trying to push harder on the bike and was doing well except I didn't really know the finish. We went up on to the sidewalk for a bit and I thought it was the end so I got out of my shoes right away. Turns out we still had maybe a 1/2 mile or more to go and I was already out of my shoes. Wouldn't have made a huge difference at the end but every second counts. Basically followed Julia into T2 (she also started in the second wave).

Was happy to see I had the 2nd best bike in my AG and 13th OA, but I still think I could go a little harder. Not disappointed though.

Know the ending better so I didn't unclip too early. Also should have started riding my tri bike earlier in training. My quads still aren't really there just yet and I can feel it when I'm holding on to a certain watt range that I should be.

Followed Julia into T2 and there was a guy that wouldn't move and was kind of all over the place while running with his bike. It was a long narrow transition so there was no place for her or me to go. No real issues once I got to the rack.

Come into transition ahead of people?

Came out of transition, went by Julia and started out a little off pace just trying to get settled and into a rhythm. There was a girl sitting right on my feet which is fine. I figured I'd drop her but she hung with me for about 2 of the 3 miles and even went by me at once. I run better when I have someone to pace off of so this was good. Besides, I haven't had a cute girl breathing heavy into my ear in a while so I'll take what I can get! Kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the turn around to come and it felt like it never did. The girl passed me for about 100 yards on the way back in so I stayed with her. What was funny was we were going fine and then there was the slightest incline up and over a bridge, and that change of angle on my legs felt so good. It gave them new life. After that the women's winner came cruising by me and I tried running with her for a bit but couldn't hold her pace without blowing up. Another guy got on my feet and as I was getting close I passed my coach and picked it up. I thought I was closer to the finish than I was so I started to go which is good but also a little premature. Finally worked my way around a loop and made it home.

I wasn't sure how I'd run since my pace was about 15-20 seconds off on all my runs during the week due to my race last week. I did the run in 19:45 which is a 5K PR for me by 34 seconds so I was pretty stoked about that since one of my goals (in general, not for this race) was to go under 20 minutes on a 5K.

Know the finish better; otherwise nothing.

Jogged back to the transition area to get my clothes, and then hung out talking to people for a bit.


Not knowing the course well enough, but mainly being a poor swimmer!


Good race, started on time, well run. Had a good time and will probably do it again next year.