just a great swim. i'm liking the swim portion more and more. I really feel as if I can get better. this is where I can get faster overall the quickest. I just need to continue to swim.

nothing.

great T1, but I feel as if I could have gone faster...not much...few seconds. I was 5 overall. My transitions saved me one position in the overall rankings.

not much....get WS off quicker at the ankles. If I could master a running mount, I'd of been out of there in 40-45 seconds.

I enjoy this bike course. Started out of transition and had a little problem getting clipped in. nothing major. I has no clue where I was coming out of the water, my guess was 30th, so I expected to pass a lot on the bike. I only passed 4-5, than I realized, I must have passed a good amount in T-1. Bike was going great, played cat and mouse with one guy, but mostly just pushed it. I love the bike.

Came to first major hill, but I've been here before, about 25 times in training. 26 would be no different. just go. hard. got to the top of the first and was ready to puke, but said, relax, downhill coming up. I knew you had to brake at this down hill as I've done it plenty of times, so instead of taking the hill hard and slowing down, I just coasted all the way down...worked great as I still needed to brake slightly. made the turn and hammered away. came to 2nd hill, and some idiot in a car is blocking entry back (asking for directions) into the park where the big hill begins. I scream, because really I don't know what to say, and the volunteer says, "you gotta go man!!!" I was TOd as I had to break, and ANY momentum you have going up this you will need. I said screw it.

Repeating up these hills was my Saturday morning for the past 3 months. Every time I thought about race day. Here I was, ready to grind up this bi-atch. No time to slow down, just go. Wanted so badly to take it easy, but wouldn't let myself do it. Saw the pine tree at the top that marks the end of the hill, and got ready for the speedy decent.

I just went, fast as I could. Maxed out at 41.9 MPH,

Came into T2, saw only a handful of bikes, at that point I knew top 10 was in my grasp.

suck it up and pedal harder.

smoked T2. 4th overall. 1 problem was instead of being able to slip out of one bike shoe, it un-clipped. than it hit me...I was supposed to tighten the pedal on that side...oh well. luckily I got a spot right by bike-in. racked my bike, slipped on my shoes, helmet off. Run.

tighten pedal like I told myself I should have. 3-5 second mistake. nothing major.

left T-2, and heard a good friend of mine from tri-club say, "suck it up mike. go get 'em." When I heard that, I knew I was in good position. I could tell by the tone of his voice....passed a couple people, than a lady coming the other way said, "you're 5 behind...go go go." Thats why I love tri's...no clue who this was, she had no clue who I was, but clearly was supporting me. One guy passed me and said, "C'mon, lets go..." So I picked it up and ran with him for 2-3 minutes and we had a good chat. It was just him and me, side by side, clearly competing in a good way. I was going as fast as I could, sub 6's. He finally said, "I never should of told you to pick it up." We both laughed, hung with him some more, than I could hold the pace any longer. Well, I should have.

Coming in the end, it happened...got chicked! No problem with that, as it was Kristen White, local running champ who pretty much wins overall female in anything she shows up to....I took pride in sticking with her till the very end.

I approached the finish line, and I could hear my brother yelling, "GO MIKE...GO!!!" Gave it everything I had, crossed at 1:05:59. I owe my brother a drink for sub 1:06!! hahaha,

suck it up man. I just need to suck it up and go. When am I going to run until I puke? Clearly, I just feel as though I'm leaving some out there. not much, 1-2 maybe 3 minutes. I just need to realize this hurts. Make it hurt more.

I made sure to introduce myself to Matt Migonis. Kid is a stud. went sub 1:00, next closest was over 4 minutes behind him. $hit...I just realized I was only 1:45 behind 2 overall. A lot of time in a sprint, but clearly something I can reach for.


noting


well, let me first say I love this race. Cant get any more local than this. Saw a ton of people I know. And I hung with some guys I clearly admire in the sport. I recall last year volunteering at a tri and seeing some of these very guys kick butt. I love this sport and I am just pumped that I am doing well.

Improvement needs to continue. I need to train more. I need to suck it up at the end of races. I need to hurt more at the end.

My wife, as usual, did a smoken job with the pictures and supporting me during the race. anytime she saw me, she gave me a huge supporting yell....seeing her and the kids on the course is always a jolt of energy.