Overall this was a good swim for me. From the start I looked for open water and continued this through the end. I thought I might see my wife, Ron, or Jason, but as soon as I hit the water I recognized no one. I was pretty happy with the rhythm I got into with my breathing, sighting, kicking and stroking. During OWS I do alot of counting to pass the time and stay consistent. I try and take 8 strokes before I sight, unless I'm really close to a turn buoy. The only thing I was not happy about was how far I rounded the turns. Every time I looked to the right I was a good 20-30 feet right of the main line of swimmers. The only good thing about this was that I did not make contact with more than 1 or 2 people the entire swim.

Only thing I would change is to maybe round the buoys a little better.

This transition could have been a little faster. There was about 100 yds between the beach and transition. I saw Katie making her way to T1 and knew she had started after me, nice swim Katie! I jogged slowly but my HR was really high so I didn't want it to spike. Took a little longer to get socks and bike shoes on because I was breathing so heavily. I saw Bethany entering transition as I was leaving. Holy Carp! There goes the 2 or 3 minute lead I needed to hold her off!

Nothing

This is the area I've been really trying to increase volume lately and I'm happy that it's finally paying off. This was the 1st time I've averaged over 20 mph. This course was really tough for me and I felt like the hills just kept coming and coming. I really tried to focus on keeping my effort level steady just above what I would consider comfortably hard, but not into the red zone.

I tried to stay aero as much as I could, except for looking over my shoulder anticipating Bethany, Ron, or Jason catching me at any point! I traded spots with a few people over and over, passing them on the downhills or flats and then being passed back on the uphills.

Overall, I was thrilled to be over 20mph for the 1st time, though this is still the area where I can stand to pick up the most time. Just gotta keep working on the engine!

This the event I am the best at! I'm a T2 specialist.

Nothing

Legs felt pretty good the whole way except for the few really steep hills in the campgrounds. My pace stayed pretty consistent until the last 2 miles that I tried to pick up the pace. I kept seeing Bethany at the out and backs and saw that she was only about a minute behind me with a couple miles left...although she did not look as comfortable running as she usually does (she ended up getting sick before the finish). It was great to see all my ATC teammates and give high fives and encouragement.

I wanted to avoid cramping today like I did in Chattanooga, so I drank at every aid station and walked for a few seconds to make sure I got the whole cup down. I finished the run in a sprint and was thrilled to be finished, and to have set a new 10k PR (45:30)! Granted, this is only the 4th 10k race I've done (2 open, 1 other Oly) but to PR on such a hilly course is a direct result of my TNRs.

Nothing, I pushed the pace from start to finish and felt like I left it all out there.

Walked around, hung out at the ATC tent, stretched and cheered on finishers. I love post-race hanging out! Watched Bethany finish shortly after I did. Our inter-marriage rivalry is funny...it's not that I want to beat her per se, I just don't want to lose! I also have to work VERY hard to remind my fellow club members that the male side of Team Rutledge occasionally gets a W!


I feel like I took a huge step forward in fitness between Chattanooga in July and today. I was about 6 minutes faster today on what I consider a much more difficult course. It's very encouraging for me to see that the training work pays off during races. I just need to continue to train consistently and get a little more disciplined in what I eat.


This was a well organized and fun (afterward at least) race. It was a tough course, but everyone faced the same hills. Would definitely do it again, but may or may not depending on if I get into IM Moo 2010!