really happy with my placement on the swim... felt like i got out to a strong start... i felt solid and kept a good line to the turn around buoy... there was a big wave in front of us... so from about halfway to the turnaround through the rest of the swim there was a lot of bumping and navigating around folks...

after the turnaround we were going back into the sun... and i could not see anything... my googles suck to start with... but then going into the sun it was impossible... i was all over the place on the way back... i could not see the bouys so i was just aiming towards the middle of all the arms i could see ahead of me... others must have been having trouble seeing as well... as there were people going in every direction it seemed like... lots of contact out there... a couple times i realized that i was about 10 - 15 yards wide left of everyone - as i was close to the swim platforms... so would then make my way back in towards the middle... was a bit bummed when i saw my time coming out of the water... however it appears that the swim was a bit long...

tried drafting a few times... but never came upon anyone that i could keep with for more than about 20 seconds...

practice sighting... and more ows...

it was a long transition area... so i actually practiced the line i was going to take to my bike a couple times before the race... after seeing my swim split, I felt like my shot at placing was over so i think i was dogging it a little through T1... not sure why... didnt feel like i was throwing in the towel... just was lacking any sense of urgency... guess i learned another lesson there...

need to work on getting the wetsuit off faster... and just keep it moving...

had troubles getting my left foot clipped in... and once again i forgot to reset my bike computer so wasn't able to track avg speed... but anyway... felt fine on the bike... however i just didnt feel like i had that extra gear... had hoped to see my speed in the 22.2+ range... but seeing that i've hardly biked since SOR i knew that would it be tough... also, seemed to be fighting the wind most of the time... so not overly disappointed here... but i feel like the bike is an area i can make a lot of improvement on... definitely need to do more hill work...!!!

log more miles on the bike... also, donnawiz was talking up the benefits of an aero helmet... so may have to look into this as well as some race wheels... :)

ahhh...!!! this was a memorably forgettable transition...!!!

had been practicing my speedy bike dismount the day before the race... didnt feel like i had it perfected but was comfortable enough to give it a go in the race... coming into transition i waited too long to get set up... so i'm unstrapping my shoes... and coming in pretty fast... cant get my right foot out... reaching down to do so and my shoes becomes unclipped... apparently my brain doesnt quite function properly during races and i'm not sure what to do... i figure i'll just coast in and unclip the other one.. hop off the bike and go... just like normal... for some reason when i get ready to dismount i decide to try jumping off still with my shoes still on though... obviously i didnt think ahead enough to realize that my left foot was still in my shoe and clipped in... which quickly became apparent as i was so masterfully executing this... so as i'm hitting the brakes and going to jump off the pedal to the ground... the bike decides to follow me... and flips up over me as i tumble across the ground at the dismount point... i did hear a large smattering of 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' by the all-too-large crowd that was standing there as i'm laying on the ground still clipped into my bike... lying there.. with my bike on me... chain off... seat and brake levers aiming sideways... a bunch of people rush up to see if i'm okay... which i felt fine and somehow managed to escape without a scratch... however as i'm on the ground i just had to laugh... at how funny that whole incident must have looked...

anyway... get up.. acknowledge the crowd... (as they were providing very encouraging words... as i probably looked like i had never been on a bike before... or more appropriately - never had gotten off a bike before...) grab the bike and go... the next part was a bit more irritating as it took me forever to get my running shoes on.. as the soles keep sliding forward whenever i would put my feet in... finally get set and off i go...

next time i think i will just go full speed into the barrier fence... that might make it a bit more entertaining for the crowd... :)

that and glue the soles down in my shoes...!!!

this was the part of the event i was waiting for... wanted to really go after the 5k... goal was to go sub 18:36 (which is a 6 min pace)... PR was 18:56...

came out of transition and just started pushing... was feeling decent... so was just hoping i was on or near pace... thought i may be going a little under 6... but hit mile 1 at 6:03... figured that was fine... didnt want the next mile to be any slower though... but in mile 2 you could really feel the heat...!!! and when you made the turn you were going back into the wind... so i was definitely pushing it harder... trying to stay on pace and run people down... legs felt pretty strong... hit mile 2 at 6:03 again... i knew if i kept this up i'd at least PR... but really wanted the sub-6... kicked it in the last mile... passed a few people this mile... but then i got passed by someone with about 1/4 mile to go... and then i passed someone else just before the 3 mile mark... i hit mile 3 at 5:48... and was pumped... i went into a sprint for the last .1 mile... the guy i had passed caught me... and we were both catching the guy that had passed us... the 3 of us were hauling a$$ down the finishing chute... we finished in reverse order from where we hit the mile 3 marker... so i came in second... wishing i had a little more of a kick at the end... but it was a fun finish...!!! last .1 mile in 30 seconds (5:00 pace)... final time - 18:24 (5:56 pace)... crushed my 5k PR by 32 seconds...!!! that felt awesome...!!!

not a thing...!!!

lots of liquids and tracked down others from the race... saw schmize's wife (holly) and got some updates from her on schmize, coredump and jabraunski... mainly hung out with donna and pam waiting for them to post results... and waiting for awards... schmize, pjgrande and i all placed in our AG...



signed up for this one at the last minute... and didnt feel like i was totally prepared... mentally or physically... happy with the results though... Missed AG 1st by 72 seconds... just goes to show that you should never give up on the race...!!!


liked the course and the event... it was a little warm out... but not as bad as i was expecting...

my reason for doing the sprint was that i wanted to get a long run in yet that day... which i almost bailed on... but did manage to get a 20.5 miler in later that evening... so i figure a 5k PR, hardware and a 20 miler all in the same day makes for a pretty solid day...!!! :)