The start line was to 5-10 yards away from and perpendicular to the lake edge, and you needed to tread water waiting for the start. No big deal, but I needed to conserve energy, so I stood near the lake edge waiting the 5 minutes for the wave start. We had a pretty good-sized wave with several age groups and relay folks mixed together and my plan was to get to the inside position next to the buoy line toward the lake center. I wanted to avoid getting squeezed in between the pack and the shoreline.

The announcer called 30 seconds to go and I just wasn’t paying enough attention. All of sudden the gun fired and I was caught flat-footed and in between the main pack and the shoreline; exactly what I wanted to avoid. I had to maneuver through the tangle of slower swimmers (slow as I am, there are people slower) to get to the clear water.

The contact was typical, but not bad and soon enough I was on my way; pretty much an uneventful swim from there on. I just sighted on the big high school buildings in the distance until I got to the turn buoy, so that part was easy.

Never really tired or had any issues; just an average slow swim for me and I stroked it on in to the finish.

Be focused at the start and not get caught out of position. This cost me some time and effort, but it wasn’t a race killer.

Lack of general swim skills and fitness during this year of reduced training.

I had a decent rack position and I blew through.


Nothing, every move was perfect and smooth.

Fastest in AG.

Mounted cleanly and hit it hard. First few miles I was smoking and averaging 23-24. I need a good bike and run to make up for my slow swimming. The road and conditions were perfect and I was excited about putting up a good time.

But the lack of sleep and energy started to catch up with me and a guy in my AG passed me; this never happens. Normally, I can outbike the slower swimmers and catch half of the faster swimmers. Not today. I did pass two AG guys during the first part.

I started fading at the turnaround point and dropped to 20-21. I was still having an average ride and passed a couple more AG guys, but really had to work at it. At the second turnaround I managed to speed up some, but I knew I had a sub-par ride.

Got out of the shoes a 1/4 mile from TA and hit the dismount line fast and cleanly.

Nothing, rode as hard as I could given my condition. Should've been 22-23 mph, but wasn't.

I had a decent rack position and I blew through.

Nothing, every move was perfect and smooth.

Fastest in AG.

(I transition well, too bad it's such a small portion of the race.)

Well, OK, the bike is done, now I can put up a good run time and still try to salvage the race. I left T2 running hard and trying to establish my stride and breathing rhythym while getting up to race pace. Normally I can run 7:00 to 7:15 miles; not today.

Not only could I not get up to pace, I was starting to fade just a mile into the race. I had passed the guy in T2 who had caught me on the bike and now he came around me moving very well. I hung with him for a while, but he eventually pulled away. Shoot, there goes an AG spot.

The legs started to want to cramp and I got a side stitch. I never get side stitches! Grabbed a cup of water at the second aid station, but a few ounces of water weren't going to help me at this point.

I managed to hang on and not get any worse. I could see the finish line area and was just cruising on in. I passed the first mat that registers your name and town for the announcer and as I was nearing the finish line mat, a guy blazes on through at an all-out sprint. I glance down and see a "50" on his leg. Dang it! He'd had me lined up in his sights, nipped me right at the end and beat me by 2 seconds. One more AG spot lost!

Given my physical state, there's nothing I could've done differently; just keep pounding away and get it done. Almost succumbed to the temptation to walk, but never did.

Slowest run in a sprint race in 4 years. Should've kicked at the end and finished 8th (but I had no idea he was on me).

Another thing: The fastest guy in our AG ran 7:47 miles and he normally runs a LOT faster. We all ran "slow" on this particular day.

Walked around, found some friends, looked for something to eat and drink.

Looked for the BT folks, but didn't find them because I don't know what they look like because all triathletes look pretty much the same; missed out on something cold to drink.

Chatted with a guy I met at other races while we waited for transition to re-open. Packed my stuff and left.


Losing 2 weeks of training during July with a badly cut thumb, oh and...

Drinking a half gallon of green tea the afternoon and evening on Saturday, getting jacked up on caffeine and 3 hours of sleep, peeing all night and going into the race dehydrated. Crap, what a huge mistake.

Note to self: This pre-race hydration plan sucks; never do that again!

This is not a "woe is me" report, I still had a fun race with an acceptable performance; I just had the potential to have been so much better. If I'd had my usual bike & run, I would've finished 4th or 5th. It happens.


It was a well-run race, especially for a first time event. Found out the story behind some issues that I thought were the fault of the race management, but were NOT...

1. The lack of ice and cold drinks (& beer) was the result of a medical emergency that caused a disruption in activities. (The person is OK, I've been told.)
2. There would've been plenty of pizza, but there were spectators stealing whole pizzas and not just 1 or 2, but as many as 10 and heading to their cars when volunteers were busy. WTH?

Everything else was fine.