No bones about it, the swim was short. Not sure how much, but not the right distance. Not much the RD could do about that after having to change the course 2x before race start. I sure didn't mind. Regardless, I had my best swim ever for a HIM, so I'm proud of that. I got out in front, sighted well, breathed very well, and stayed strong throughout. Even drafted for the first time ever.

Spectators (all four of them) could actually follow along the swim course since it went along the docks, so there was actually some cheering in the water. Which sounded like this: bubleblublebubbble...yaaaaaaah...bublbeblble...gooooooo, etc. Only had one collision with some chica who must've been part cyclops because she was way off course when we met.

Swim 5 days a week every week leading up to the race.

Couldn't get my arm warmers or gloves on because my hands were freezie pops and my arms mucky otters. This would devour me later.

Bring my ski parka. And mittens. And some hand warmer packets for inside the mittens.

What can be said? This course was silly hard. Stoopid hard. A touring course, not a racing course. I rarely felt like I was racing, what with going so slowly all the time. That noted, beautiful course. Will return before winter comes and again in spring to train this as much as possible in prep for Lake Placid.

You come out of transition and run with your bike up ~40 stairs. Good warmup for the first climb, which begins as soon as you clip in and will annihilate any hopes you had of a PR today. But at first it wasn't the hills that hurt, it was the numb toes and frozen fingers. The sun was just beginning to rise as I set out -- pretty, yes -- though the light was misleading if you thought it would bring warmth, 'cuz there wasn't none to be had. At one point I went to adjust the package and thought the entire unit fell off. Everything was numb. Everything.

Biggest problem was fueling. My plan was to fuel early and often. But no matter how much I tried to warm up my hands, they couldn't function well enough to squeeze a water bottle or hold a GU, let alone tear the top off. At around mile 40 I was finally able to take down some nutrition. Normally I sweat more than a sumo wrestler wrapped in garbage bags in Death Valley, but since it was cold I didn't lose much water, so the lack of nutrition wasn't too bad.

I'd like to describe the hills here, but there's no point. Before the start of the race the RD had a course map and elevation profile out. 3300 feet of elevation change. Kansas had ~2500 feet of change, and even the pros consider that a challenging course. One of the biggest hills is at mile 46, a 3 mile climb in the weenie ring at best. The whole thing was comical at this point.

No stairs at the end this time, because the race organizers made you run your bike down the wheelie ramp. Ran without shoes, pounding on the frosty toes.

Train on nothing but 5%+ hills all day every day.

Was ready to rock the run course. Definitely ready to be done with the bike.

Started out 6th overall on the run, and was pretty content with that. I ran w/ a IM Moo finisher at the start and we chatted it up a bit. This was supposed to be a fun race and an adventurous weekend with friends we haven't seen in a long time, so my main focus was having fun.

After a while that guy dropped back and I could see the 4th place male up ahead, and the OA bug crept into my stomach. I can catch that guy. His arms are flailing a little too much. He must be hurting. Go get him. Now I was feeling pretty good and not slowing like I usually do at mile 4, and look at that, there's the 3rd place guy within sight. At mile 6 I knew I could take him, but maybe not hold him off if he gains strength. When I passed him, he said "you're in 3rd!" Wow, now that's some sportsmanship. I would've cursed something fierce. Saw my friend visnyake coming the other way looking strong, and hi-fives were in order. Good times.

After I got into 3rd, I put it on cruise control, just taking gatorade at each station and not eating any gels. Many people coming the other way on the course gave me words of support, which felt great. Looking behind me I saw no one, so at mile 10, I slowed down, just taking in the good scenery and enjoying the day. I wasn't going to PR, and had a good place OA.

Crossing the finish line I heard, "And here comes the 3rd place male, Ryan Case from Ann Arbor." So cool. So happy. No injuries, no pain (well, maybe), just smiles.

Nothing

Talked to the male winner and runner up, congratulating them on a great race.


Unprepared for the cold and severity of hills on the bike course.


A good first year race in a beautiful setting. RD had backup plans ready for the weather, and results were ready for printout immediately after you crossed the finish line. Bike aid stations were underserved with no water bottles or bottle drops, and volunteers were sparse, though extremely helpful the ones that were there. Overall, definitely recommended.