I did not "race" the swim. If I pushed myself, it would have been a lot of energy for only a few minutes of gain. I put on the cruise control and enjoyed the course.

Learn how to swim. I have yet to unlock this idea of swimming. Technique is bad, strength and endurance are getting better. If I could just get out of my own way and be more slippery in the water ...

There was a steep hill leaving T1 around 25 yards long. I definitely should have been in my small chain-ring up front. I just had to stand up and power through it.

Be in the right gear leaving transition. Learn how to hop on the bike while running and keep my shoes on the bike. Something to work on.

Nutrition and hydration on the bike went perfect! I could not have asked for anything better. I had NO cramps at any point. Everything worked as planned.

Go faster.

Super smooth transition. No hiccups. There was quite the long run from the dismount line to T2 and quite a long run from T2 to the run start. All in all, this was a blazing fast transition for me.

Learn to run without socks. Maybe?

Wow! I left T2 with legs that felt completely fresh. All of my high cadence spinning and high cadence running has definitely been paying off. I felt fantastic all the way up to mile 8. I was holding a 7:30ish pace (which was the plan) and even had 2 miles at 7:00.

After mile 8, the heat just ate me alive. It was bloody hot. The first half of the run, I took Gatorade and a Shot Blok (with caffeine) at every other aid station. I stopped at every aid station on the last half of the run. I did not dump water on me because I hate running with wet socks. Shoes get to heavy when wet. I stayed as dry as I could.

The hills combined with the heat made this a brutal run. I was hoping to beat my Half Marathon PR time of 1:38. I was only 5 minutes short of that. Considering I ran this off the bike and in those conditions, I am completely happy.

More heat training?

Celebration!


I know I need more speed work in the running department. I really need to learn how to take time off my swim. I am around 25% slower than everyone in my age group. If I could get out of the water in a better time, I could be more in the front of the pack.


Amazing race! After doing Sprint, International, Olympic, and HIM, this is my favorite distance. I do not feel that I have a top speed gear but I can go at 80% for a long time.

Looking forward to VA Marathon and ... Ironman!