This was probably my best swim ever, maybe not speed wise, but I think I did it at the right effort. I did basically 0 drafting in the race, so I just tried my best to pick the best route and get through the waves ahead of me as clean as possible. Only problem was at about 300m in someone grabbed my leg and it brought me to a stop. Also had a poor turn at the turn around buoy, but it was probably the most crowded part of the course for me.

On the way back you swim into the sun for 700m. I did this race 2 years ago as my first Olympic race.. and it really killed me then. This time around I didn't have any problems. I didn't bother sighting off the buoys, instead I just breathed to the right and then the left keeping the shore line where I thought it should be. I'm sure I wasn't perfect but I think it was better than trying to find the buoys in the blinding sun. I stayed nice and relaxed on the swim, got out of the water feeling good.. where normally I'm already a bit tired. :)

Well being 24:08, would of liked to go a tad faster to be 23:xx ;).

I got a speed suit from the shop a few weeks ago, but went with not using it for this swim since I really haven't done any practice in it. It's one that goes pass the knees so I wasn't sure how quickly it would come off. So I just skipped on using it here. I'll probably use it at clear lake as I want a faster swim there.

I fumbled a few seconds with the helmet, otherwise no problems.

Got my butt handed to me here. I started off OK and even started up into the stronger than expected headwind pretty good. Then I hit a up rise into the headwind and it just brought me to a crawl. It took me about 6 more miles to get back into my groove. I lost majority of my time to the others who went 1hr or under in those few miles. On the way back though, I ran out of gears for a bit. I was going 31-35mph for a bit and could of used 1 more gear. Felt good and comfortable on the last 60% of the bike course.

I had the worse turn around ever. I thought I had a good line for the U-Turn, but then doubted my self at the last second and basically came to a stop to turn. It was weak. ;) Also, I rode my disc and 100 front, the wind blew me around a bit and then the roads were a little rough in sections and it just made for a pretty rough/stiff ride. Probably didn't help me find a groove. This is the most I've been bounced/blown around while on the bike. Probably going to buy a used 404 front here soon, that should help out.

OK Bike just when everyone else in the top ten is right around an hour flat or under it's kind of a bummer to be 2minutes slower. I did a pretty good job of staying at my pace even when William caught me at mile 10 or so. I wanted to go with him, but I knew I would of blown.

Not sure what I could of done differently a I feel like I just hit a bad spot. Probably would of been a good idea to focus on just keeping my breathing steady and my cadence up when I was struggling.

It's a slight downhill into the transition, and it's not very long so I did a slower than normal dismount so I wouldn't have to stop real quick barefoot.

Nothing. Everything went smooth.

Slower than expected, but not way off. I figured I'd run 39:xx. The way out once past 1200m is basically all climbing with some steeper pitches here and there and a few down hills.. just so you know you have to climb a bit on the way back too. Still I think the loose footing in the sandy spots is what zapped my legs more than anything.

I took it out a bit slower than normal as I knew the first mile was the easiest. I felt good and strong on the way out, had to slow pretty good for one hill, but I was able to recover and continue on at a decent clip. I saw someone at about mile 2 that looked like William. I picked the pace up but once he got closer I saw that it wasn't and slowed down. ;) Then I got to the turn around which is right after a good downhill section on the way out. So you have to turn right back around and go up it. This killed my legs last time and it did the same this time. My legs had felt good till this point, but at the end of this climb my quads were starting to tighten up. That made me back off on my pace a bit and every hill on the way back took my legs out. I thought I had 2:06(2:05-2:07 was my goal window) wrapped up, but I suppose I miscalculated and instead of picking it up I eased up a tad to give the quads a slight break. I figured I was off pace with about 1200 to go, and couldn't do much at that point. I manage to stay under 2:08, but barely.

I enjoy this run course and even suffering, it goes by quickly. I had fun.

I think I could of sucked it up more on the way back/down. If I had seen William in front of me I bet I could of ran 45seconds faster. Maybe I need some string, a stick and a donut dangling in front of me on the run? lol

Swim in the river, felt much better after the swim. Though the 7 hour drive back home made me very stiff. ;)


I think I did pretty good and I've got my fitness back to where it was at the time of Galveston. However instead of getting stronger for 2 1/2 months after Galveston, I only got slower due to several things. So I've got a month and a half of decent training in me now, so I'm pretty happy with the performance. As long as things keep going well, I should see some good fitness gains over the rest of the year. :)


One of my favorite races. The course is great and Jack doesn't screw anything up.