This year was 1:14 faster than last year. I was very happy with that outcome.

Overall pleased with the race. I would love to do more open water swims next year but I swim in the pool quite often.

I chose to skip socks but put my shoes on in T1 rather than at the bike mount. My glasses fogged up very quickly so I had to take them off and couldn't even use them in the ride.

Run even faster from the swim exit to my bike.

I was so eager to see what my bike leg would be like. After getting severe pains in my feet on some training rides, I decided to make a lot of changes. First, I got some new shoes and upgraded my pedals. Unfortunately, that didn't help it at all. Next, I met with Curtis and did a bike fitting and made many significant changes. That helped with my toes but I wasn't able to get into my drops due to the angle of the seat. I then put a new set of tires on the bike based on Curtis' recommendation. Then Thursday night I made a nose adjustment on my seat. Suddenly it all seemed to click. I know my avg speed wasn't actually 18 mph but everyone got the benefit of the slightly shorter distance. Last year's time was 50:37 and an avg speed of 15.6 MPH so this was quite an improvement.

There is still a major slow down when I hit a steeper hill. I don't climb well at this weight but I am definitely better than last year or even earlier this year. I would also like to get more aero by being in the drops more often.

Here is where I gave away some time. I had my sunglasses fall off as I got to my rack and had to go back and grab them. As I did that, one of my shoes fell off my bike. Between that and having to sit down and put my socks and shoes on, I gave away about a minute. I could have broken 1:45 with a great T2 and a little improvement in T1.

Go back to Yankz and try running without socks again. I just had one bad experience and now I am afraid to try it again. I'll do it next race or next spring for sure.

I was disappointed that I didn't meet my goal here but I did beat last year by 1:24. I should have been able to be around 40 minutes easy. I did actually beat some other clydes this year and 9 guys in other age groups.

Spend more time on run fitness! I just not able to run as much outside as I want to. I also need to learn how to continue to run when my mind is telling me I should stop and recover or rest. My HR is not so high that I am needing to recover but my legs are telling me to stop and walk.

I walked around the area with the fluid and even got some pizza. Last year I finished late enough that they were out of pizza. I don't know if 6 minutes faster really helped with that or if they order more food but it was nice. Got some pictures with fellow club members.


Run fitness is the only place that I am not really improving drastically. It's better but not on pace with the swim or the bike.


I did have one negative with this year's race. I found out that I received a 2:00 penalty for improperly disposing a water cup on the run course. Since I generally take one or two sips and dump the rest on my head, I don't see how I could have disposed of it out of the zone. I am glad to accept a penalty when I have done something wrong or sketchy but when it is as lame as this I don't feel it is justified. Katie June lost 1st overall female by 5 seconds to someone that was drafting throughout the race but never caught but I'm nailed for littering. I even still had my top to the gel I ate on the bike in my bento box. Needless to say, I don't blame anyone on this random accessing of a penalty but I also don't feel the need to include it in my time for this report!