I started at about 13min on the race clock, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that people were generally very evenly spaced out in the water. This was achieved by a combination of the race organizer's insistance that people prove their seed times (either in the water the actual pool or calculated from another tri's swim split) plus having everyone go at 15 second intervals (last year I believe it was every 10 seconds).

I did still catch up with the woman right in front of me after about 100 meters. Luckily I did so just before we both hit the wall, and she was very kind to let me pass at the wall - so I lost almost no time passing her. The next time I was not so lucky. I had to stay behind another swimmer for more than half a length going at about half speed before I passed her at the wall (another kind person in that sense). That length probably cost me 10 or so seconds. I poked my head up to see if I could try to pass mid-length, but there was too much two-way traffic.

After I passed her and one other person it was smooth sailing until the end. I found myself breathing every 2nd stroke (which generally is a bad idea and slows you down), but I felt I was going pretty fast and still keeping my overall effort in check.

Immediately after the swim I felt really good about it, and I thought maybe I might have come close to my goal of 6:30. No such luck though. In the three triathlons I've done with 400m distance swims, my times have been 6:49, 6:50 and 6:51. I guess I'm nothing if not consistent. There was one bright spot though - I was first in my age group in terms of swim time :-)


Maybe flip turns? I doubt that would have gained me much time though.

4/37 age group, 11/150 overall
As I've mentioned previously, the lower seeded swimmer's transition racks were extremely close to the pool exit - like just a few yards. This benefitted my transition time quite a lot in comparison to other races. I fumbled just a bit getting my shoes on, but otherwise the transition was pretty smooth. When I got on the bike I did so slowly and deliberately, no flying mounts or anything fancy. I've learned my lesson about trying to hurry up too much getting clipped in. I had no mis-clips this time and was off very quickly.


nothing

I felt very strong all the way through the bike leg. I was really pounding the downhills and staying in the tuck most of the time, and I probably averaged 22 or 23 mph on the first half of the course. However, on the hillier second half I found myself dipping back into the 16-19mph range too much, not for lack of effort but, I think, because of poor technique. I think the thing I did wrong was that I was slowly shifting down trying to conserve my momentum as I would head into a hillier section, and I would then take the hill sitting. I think I should have just kept the higher gear and got out of the saddle. I tried to get up out of the saddle a couple of times on the hills but I wasn't in the correct gear for it and I wound up just sitting down again, all the while losing momentum. Last year there was no way I could have pumped through the hills, but this year I think I'm at a level of fitness where I could have handled it.

In the last 1/2 mile I also toned it down a bit to get ready for the run. I probably should have just kept cranking. I also stupidly got out of one of my clips too early (before the last left turn into the transition area), costing me probably 3-5 seconds because I slowed down quite a lot just before the mount/dismount line. I passed a guy about 1 mile before the end, and he had caught right back up to me as we entered transition.


Get up and pump rather than sitting down through the hills.

7/37 age group, 31/150 overall
I found my rack again without any problems, put my bike back without issue, but fumbled a bit while getting my running shoes on. My feet were still wet either from the pool or from perspiration (I went sockless), making it harder to get into them. I also felt a twinge of a hamstring cramp as I put the troublesome foot in the shoe, luckily that cramp didn't come back. I had my race belt on during the swim, so all I had to do in T2 was turn it around to the front (they had required it in the bike as well, but on the back side). It was a pretty fast T2 despite the shoe-fumbling.


perhaps loosen my lock laces a bit to get my wet feet in my running shoes easier

As I started the run I felt a bit wobbly in the legs, but not too bad. I didn't take any water right away, as I've learned from experience that doing so makes me nauseous. Instead, I had a small flask (a 5oz Hammer Flask) of Perpeteum with me that I would sip on when I was ready. I also took along a Hammer Gel, but never used it.

After the first 1/4 mile I was starting to feel pretty strong, so I picked things up a bit. I knew from having biked the run course the day before that there was a slight uphill portion in the first mile. I was ready for it. I was able to keep my increased pace through that slight uphill and add to it as I went back down. There was an extended (200 yd or so) downhill portion right after that and I increased my pace again. After that point I was feeling very strong and was able to keep that pace even in some slight uphill sections. It was around this time that I passed a guy in my age group - always a good feeling :-) He was a big dude and after I passed him I could tell he was gunning to come right back. Knowing he was back there just a ways was pretty good motivation to try to keep the increased pace.

As I rounded the turn-around (which was slight more than half way through the run), I started to wane a bit, so I decided to guzzle what was left of my small Perpeteum flask in hopes of getting a second wind. It worked. On the way back, when I saw the small crest which I knew to be the last uphill portion before the all-downhill final stretch to the finish line, I started my final kick. I was pleased to find that I had one (a final kick that is...) this time, and I soon found myself basically sprinting. It was at about this time that I calculated in my head that to meet my goal time I would have to come in before the race clock hit 1h 18min (I started at 13min on the race clock). As I came into the finish, about 100 yds out I 1) saw the race clock still read 1h 17min, and really started to pour it on, and 2) heard some familiar voices saying "There's Daddy! Go Daddy go!" It was great to have my family there, and that really gave me inspiration to bring it home as fast as I could. As I crossed the finish line the clock had not yet hit 1h 18min, so I knew then that I had met my time goal, and had at least a shot at placing - it was an awesome feeling!


maybe start my big kick earlier given how much kick I had

Complain as I might about my swim and bike times and not placing, I'm still quite pleased with my overall performance. My improvement on the run was particularly satisfying, as I've been working hard on the run all year (doing 6+ mi runs 1/week basically since April and also picking up my brick sessions in the run-up to this race, plus my similarly better-than-expected 10k at the end of the Dextro ITU Olympic length triathlon in June).

Regarding the bike, I think I'm at the point now where I will need to spend some bucks if I want to see significant improvement. Even if I had pumped all of the hills, I don't think that would have bought me more than a minute or so on this course. Beyond that, I need a lighter bike, aero wheels, aero helmet - in other words 'bike bling'. I was very tempted to buy some fancy wheels earlier this summer, but I held back and decided to see how much improvement I could muster in this triathlon using the same equipment. I'm also saving some $$ to purchase bike bling for next season, when I hope to start training for my first Half Iron Man (the Kinetic Half in May).

So, that wraps up my triathlons for 2009. Now it's onto a new challenge - the Baltimore 1/2 Marathon in October :-)