The swim was the one thing that i knew i wasnt going to have as much success in previous events. I havent swam much at all, only twice since SOR. But i knew this so i knew my arms were probably going to be tired and not perform as well as the usual. Started off rough, and schmize warned me that be careful when getting in the water because of the drop off that my goggles might pop off, and they did. I tried to fix them the first 200 m or so, got most of the water out but still a tiny bit, wasnt enough to stop me so just DTFU and kept going. I found a couple people to draft but was in the middle where the fast people were gone, and the slow were way behind. I got some good drafting from the wave behind me, could have been coredump or schmize for all i know! My navigation was good this time for once, i felt like i did much better at keeping straight. Just did the best i could here and hoped to make up for time loss on the bike and run.

Train!

This went good. I had to run a ways with the bike, but i chose to do so with the spot i took. Everything went smooth there, no complaints

This started off great, my legs felt good coming from the swim, and my HR wasnt too high at all. I got to the beginning of the loop, about 2 or 3 miles out, and i was riding harder than i needed, looked back, i got a flat! SOB! I was pissed, but tried to stay calm and just quick change it. I wanted to make sure that there was no staple in it cuz i wasnt trusting the bike crew that fixed it saturday at this point. there was no staple, must have hit it just right. Back tires suck too to fix so theres another bummer. Also...when i put the bike down, not thinking, layed it the wrong way and my whole aero bottle emptied out with my drink. GREAT! Now all i have is one water bottle to get through and no rehydrate drink! Super. So now im pissed. I got it fixed and just started booking it. I was angry, so used it for good use. I know i went too hard on the bike here but im not disappionted, i needed to make up the best i could. I felt this was one of my best races rides i have had. I sprinted every hill, not much hills, and the legs felt good. I knew i would pay for it on the run, but DTFU. Came in strong, passed a lot of people who passed me while i was changing the tire so that felt really good.

Not get a flat! This was a good bike considering only water. The nutrition plan went into the capper here. Looked back, my bike on my computer was 1:08:39. That is a 21.7 mph. I like that better!

Flats happen...

This was a good transition. Nothing here to talk about, another long run with the bike to the rack, but race start was 10ft away, pros and cons.

This started off bad again when i hit .5 miles out, i forgot my gels. Coming in flustered from the bike, i forgot my nutrition, again the plan is gone pooof. So i knew here i needed to stop at every aid station and fuel with gatorade and water and get as much calories as possibe even if it is liquid form. Run was good to start, but it got hot. I ran by schmize and coredump at about mile .75 for me. They were looking strong, but coredump was in the lead at this point. My legs were good and foot was fine, HR was way too high! I tried to keep it down but again i knew from the bike it was going to be hard to do that. DTFU. I just decided to stay at my pace around 8'. I stopped at every aid station to fuel up and then took off. I knew it would slow me down a little bit, but i needed to. At about mile 4 i stopped and hit up the portapotty which felt good. i was sticking around a 7'45 pace at this point and still was feeling strong, but was starting to lose gas. I figured i hit mile 5 and kept telling myself its a 1.2 left, pain is temporary! Hit about a 7'40 pace for about .7 miles and once i knew i was getting close, just got in sprint form. The last .4 or so i was at a 6'20" pace and was feeling good mentally, physically was the opposite ha! I had about 4 people in front of me with the final 50 yards or so and wanted to chase some rabbits! Took all of them down at the finish and that felt really good. Had the announcer getting excited about it too and the crowd was fun, one guy yelled "you better smoke them!". So i took his advice!

Bring my nutrition?!?! Train more

Got some fluids and cooled down with schmize and coredump. Talked for a while and waited for my mom to finish. Knew my goal of 2:30:00 wasnt happening but was ok since the flat. Stretched out and had shared some stories with everyone. My mom finished strong and did a great job, so was really happy for her! After the results came out, me and my buddy decided to hit up white castle for a boat load of sliders and fries! Sooooo good. Dont get that treat here in Madison.

Great race, will def do it again!


More training, flat tire, dont lose nutrition....

Other than that, happy with the results!