At the Sprint and this race I started a couple feet back from where I normally do and both times it's worked out well. This was probably the least combative Boulder swim I've had. I was amazed. It let me get into a good rhythm right away. I've been working on improving my stroke and was able to focus on that rather than fighting people. The down side was going right into the sun. I couldn't see a single thing so I just followed feet and hoped they knew where they were going. Turns out they did, which was nice.

With some of the changes I'm working on with my stroke, I knew I couldn't hold the form the whole way and felt it coming apart about halfway through. That's okay. For the first time I can really remember I was with a pack for half the swim and actually had drafting opportunities. That in itself made me happy. It was apparent when my wheels came off because the feet I was on easily before just started moving away and I couldn't do anything about it. Either way, once we made the first turn, it was so much easier to see and I didn't feel all that bad.

I had a goal time of 30' to exit the water, but while in the water I felt maybe 29' was possible. When I stood up and saw 33:30 I was pretty disappointed, especially since I felt good. Anyway, I ran up and into T1 to keep moving on.

Just need to keep working on my swim and get it on part with my bike/run.

Pretty uneventful, which is always good. Not my best T1 but not too bad either.

Nada.

Plan was to go from T1 to the base of Old Stage (before it kicks up) at about 85% of FTP. I usually come out a bit hotter than that so it was a little tough to hold back but I think it worked well and was a good lesson in pacing. I had to let a few people go by me but I saw them later. On Old Stage. I was still holding good speed and moving up through a lot of people. Old Stage was tough, as expected and I was glad I had the 27 on my cassette. Saw Drew on the way up but probably had too much of a pained look on my face to respond to anything he said. Coming down the back was fun and I was hitting near 40mph without really hitting the pedals hard. I wanted to loosen up my legs so I could use them on the back half of the bike course.

The second half went well. The plan was to hit the pedals hard and ride near FTP. I modified that a bit and stayed in what felt like a pretty good sweet spot. My watts were still good, but not as high as they would have been. To be honest, I was afraid of blowing my legs out for the run and wanted to preserve them a little bit. I'm sure I could have gone a little bit faster but it would have cost me on the run. When I finished the bike I still felt relatively good and had taken nearly 2 minutes off my bike split from the last time I did this race.

I'm happy with the way I rode, so probably nothing.

I ended up with the 5th fastest T2 in my AG which I'm pleased with. At the Sprint I came into T2 a little hot when dismounting my bike so I made sure I was in better control this time and there were no problems. Always a little struggle to get my running shoes on but got that taken care of and was out the door.

Baby powder in my shoes.

Debated as to wether or not I wanted to use my Garmin on this run to help pace myself. I ultimately decided against it but I think it may have been helpful in retrospect. I ultimately wanted to run under a 7-minute mile pace and ended right around 7:08. My first 2 miles were good and in control, right where I wanted to be, but my 3rd and 5th mile were slower than they should have been. Not exactly sure what happened there but I probably just got too complacent, thinking I was running at the same pace. If I had the Garmin I would've probably known I wasn't and picked it up just a touch to make the difference. Or maybe not. Either way, my pacing was a little goofy and this was still a tough run. The last 1.2 miles felt like they lasted forever. It didn't help that I didn't have anyone to run with, but that changed with about a half mile to go. I got passed and was able to hop on the guy's feet until a downhill where I just couldn't hold them any more and had to let him go. No big deal since I was almost there. As always, I was very happy to see the finish line and wanted to collapse on the other side of it. Despite the inconsistent pacing, it was a good effort that I'm happy with.

I'd probably wear the Garmin and see if it helped with my pacing efforts.

They gave out ice towels after crossing the line, which felt great draped across my neck. Took off my shoes because I had a couple sore spots from going sockless. Then I went and sat in the res to cool off before watching the Pro race. Or at least the run. Crazy watching them come through there and how fast they're going after it. It almost hurts just watching but they still look pretty smooth.

On my way out I talked to Craig Alexander for about 5 minutes. He didn't race and was hanging out with his wife and kid/s but still took the time to talk. Just as nice of a guy as others say he is.


More than anything, probably my mental approach and not being 100% focused on the race.


Always a great race held by 5430, and fun to see people I know out on the course. I think I saw Ray, Ben, Erik, Dillard, Michelle (Dillard), Susan, and a handful of others that aren't on BT.