The first 500 yards weren't all that great for me. Despite starting like I have in the past (this year) at the 5430 series races where I wade in for about 5-10 seconds to avoid some of the trample, I still got caught in some traffic. It started out okay but then, somehow everyone seemed to be converging on one spot that I was occupying. Or at least that's how it felt. The problem was that they'd swim hard, then pull up. Swim hard, pull up. It was tough to get by. I just kept remind myself that it takes me a bit to settle in and to stay relaxed. Once I did, I was fine.

After the first buoy I got on some good feet that lasted a bit, but got cut off and that was it. On the long stretch back in, I would've sworn that the buoy was floating away. It seemed like it was farther away every time I looked, but I know it was just me. Finally turned the last corner and made it in to shore, but not before (what I think was) Simon Lessing came flying by me.

I stood up out of the water at 39:07 which is a little over 2 minutes better than my crapfest swim at KS 70.3. I felt a little dizzier than normal and took it easier on the "run" up the beach so I could re-gain some composure.

Try to stay on the draft better than I did. I got cut off by a backstroker rather than someone fighting for the feet, but I wasn't able to bridge the gap to get back on.

Wetsuit got stuck on my heels for a couple seconds, and I also put on socks before heading out on to the bike.

No need.

Went into this with what I felt like was a solid plan, racing with my PowerTap. 200-205 watts on flats, 210-215 on false flats, and 225-240 on the rollers. I haven't looked at all the numbers just yet, but my avg watts were 196 so it was pretty much on with basically an even split.

First lap was a ridiculous amount of me saying 'on your left' to pass people. I was getting annoyed with people that ride on the left hand side of the shoulder so if you want to pass them you need to go into the road, which wasn't closed to traffic. This was mainly on 36. I was also getting annoyed by the people that gun it up the rollers and then just sit once they crest it so you end up playing a cat and mouse game until there's a flat section to drop them.

First lap was pretty uneventful, just sticking to the plan. Heading out on Hwy 36 I saw a guy on the other side of the road that was running. My first thought was, wow - that guy has incredible form and just looks like he's floating along. As I got closer I realized it was Craig Alexander so I gave him a quick shout out. I saw him again coming back when I was on the second lap. He still looked like he was just out walking the dog. anyway, on the second lap I was starting to feel it a little bit more, but that was expected. That long, last false flat on Diagonal is just a brain drain to stay steady and grind it out, which was where I was starting to get antsy to get off the bike. Still, I knew I was having a fairly solid ride without going too hard. It ended up being a PR on the bike at this distance.

Within this race, probably nothing. In training, I would've probably done a couple more rides that were a little longer. Still, the ones I did had a lot of sustained intervals at watts higher than what I rode today.

Nothing going on. I did take a little more time since I realized I had to hit the bathroom while coming back into the Res. Why couldn't this have happened before so I could've just gone on the bike?

My run has really improved this year so I was looking forward to getting to this point and bringing it home. It generally takes me a couple miles to settle in and today was no different. By the time I got over the second hill, I was running fairly steady at a decent pace with a Z2 effort. That pace fell off a little bit, and then a little bit more and I was about 2.5 - 3 minutes slower on the first lap than I wanted to be. The second lap wasn't starting any better and it didn't too much longer from there to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to have the run I wanted. From there I'd say I managed the effort, but really my body was managing me. I was still trying to go but it wasn't there. I did stop at two aid stations once I realized I wasn't having the run I wanted. The first one was because the Coke was actually cold and it tasted amazing so I stopped for seconds, and to actually drink it rather than throwing it at my face and hoping some of it finds the back of my throat. The second time I walked through while I was waiting for the kid to get a cup of ice and run it over to me. After that it was just getting back to the finish line and crashing. I'm pretty sure sitting down never felt so good.

Who knows. I don't think I went out too hard, and I don't think I blew out my legs on the bike. I just faded on the second loop.

I had some friends that came up from Denver and they greeted me at the finish with a camping chair which was a life saver! Hung out and talked to them for a bit until they needed to leave. Then I went and got a massage, had some food and headed out.


I really wanted to go under 5 hours today and thought that once I got to the run with what I felt was enough times, I thought I had it in the bag. However, what happened is exactly why we actually have to race rather than writing out what we think we can do on paper. My inability to hit my goal was probably because I spent too much energy on the swim (read: lack of swim fitness needed) and it caught up to me on the run. I'm not a strong enough bike/run guy to compensate for my swim.


As always, it's fun to race in your backyard with lots of friends. There are a handful of people I "know" that I only see at races so it's always fun to see them. The 5430 Series is always well-run and has a good, local feel so hopefully it will continue on that way next year with new ownership.