The goal on this OWS is the same as every other: start on the outside and the back and let everyone beat each other up in front of me. This time it worked fairly well, I only ran over/into a few people as I swam along. Frankly, I wasn't even pushing that hard. My breathing was pretty shallow - which I attribute to the water temp & the wet suit - and it forced me to throttle back some and just cruise. I stayed on a few sets of feet once in awhile, but generally I was on my own.

More body glide; definitely more body glide. (See T1)


Last year's time: 36:05 (2:12/100yd)
This year's time: 29:21 (1:47/100yd)
Change: -06:44

The suit came off easily & I was in and out in a reasonable time given how f**king big the transition area is. I found out after I pulled off the suit that the wet suit was rubbing me in the lower armpit/shoulder-blade area and they were both severely irritated. I hadn't accounted for that and it bothered me for the rest of the race. It wasn't the last spot I found, either.

Pick a race with a shorter transition area.

Last year's time: 05:51
This year's time: 04:43
Change: -01:08

I tried to lay off the paste, I really did. But with that many people and all the downhill action, I pushed more than I should. If I ride like that at Longhorn I'll crack on the run again, no question. I also drank too much fluids, which caused problems early on the run. My cornering was great and I felt like I attacked the hills well. It was a good ride, but I could have approached it from a better angle.

Stop eating the paste. Oh, and not dropping my shot bloks somewhere in loop 2 would have been good.

Last year's time: 01:22:08 (18.08 mph)
This year's time: 01:16:51 (19.4 mph)
Change: -05:17

I dismounted with the shoes still on because I didn't feel like running through all the gravel in my bare feet. I had some trouble finding my rack because there were so many f**king racks. I sat down in T2 - yes, I know, sacrilege - and put my socks/shoes on and then headed out.

Mark my rack better.

Last year's time: 03:26
This year's time: 03:47
Change: +00:21

The early part of the run was simply surviving. I was dealing with the usual jelly legs as well as some mild cramping from drinking too much on the bike. Oh yea, and the bottom stitching on the mantard zipper had been chafing me near my belly button. I thought it was just chafing, when I got home I realized it had actually drawn blood. I look like I've got a scab bar code on my stomach. Pretty awesome, right? Right? Is this thing on?

It was about 2 miles in when the heat really started to bear down on me. I wasn't dehydrating at all, I could just feel the sun sapping my strength. I knew after the first mile that a sub-10 minute pace wasn't likely, and after 2 miles I knew I didn't have any explosion for the run. It was simply a matter of pacing myself and keeping from cracking on the run. I walked at the aid stations while getting a drink, but other than that there was only one time when I walked at all. It took about 20 minutes before the water-logged feeling went away, and after that I was just downright tired. Taking in a couple of Gu helped even me out at least.

Pace myself on the bike better, leaving more energy for the run.

Last year's time: 01:09:12 (11:08 pace)
This year's time: 01:05:31 (10:33 pace)
Change: -03:41

Fluids & pizza, then more fluids


I should have done more bike/run bricks in training.


Last year's time: 03:17:04
This year's time: 03:00:15
Change: -16:49


Between the lack of info about swim waves(not to mention how late my wave was), the massive transition area, & the price of the race, I doubt I'll be coming back to this event next year. Either that or I'll wait until the wave info is posted and lie about my AG. I'm not competing for any hardware, wtf does it matter?