Waded out to the general start area. I could see the yellow buoy in the distance. This would be my longest open water swim in my life. I didn't really think about it that way at the time. I was just trying to pick my line and remember to sight properly. I tend to drift to my right while swimming. Unfortunately that was still the case and I think my 3-4 stroke sighting along with the drift must have really slowed me down. I think I'm a stronger swimmer than a 144th place shows so I'll have to think more about strategy and the open water swim. Overall I felt good the entire time. Bi-lateral breathing good and no anxiety at all. Just a long swim.

Nutrition:

- Hammer Gel 10 minutes before start

Work more on how to sight and swim more direct to the buoy in the open water. My fitness level is good and I should be more in the 2:00/100m time.

Not bad. T1 rank was 40/201 and 5/25 in my age group so I feel I'm pretty quick. I'm sure there are some small things I could do differently. Learning how to start with the shoes on the bike is a big one. That would save me time. This is a goal for next year.

Not much...want to go into next year being able to start with the bike shoes clicked in. This will shave off a few seconds.

This is a nice course. Flat and fast and really just one bridge to navigate which is about a mile long. Felt good the entire way as I tried to keep my cadence in the 70-75 range and my speed over 20mph. There was a tailwind on the way out so my first 28 miles I was averaging about 22mph but hit the headwinds across the bridge and pretty much the last 10 miles where my average dropped to 18-19 mph. Overall I was satisfied with the bike portion as I felt I left something for the run.

Nutrition consisted of:

- 4 Endurolytes (2 at 1:00 and 2 at 2:00)
- 3 Hammer Gels (1 every 45 minutes)
- 1 24oz Hammer Sustained Energy bottle
- 1 24oz Heed bottle
- Grabbed one 16oz water bottle from support staff and drank about 8oz's before ditching.

Not much. I was aero most of the time and felt like I kept a good cadence for my fitness level. I'm not strong enough to average 22-24 yet and still have legs for the run.

Not a terrible time overall. 44/201 in the race and 9/25 in my age group. I need to learn to come out of my shoes early and keep them on the bike. I will practice this for next year as it will shave off seconds.

Learn to take shoes off before dismount and heading into transition.

Felt pretty good coming off the bike. Started out with an 8:30ish pace for the first few miles..had a cramp in my left leg develop around mile 2.5 but I ran through it...kept pace in the 9's for a mile or two and then started to feel the sun and energy start to sap...had to walk an aid station or two...had to walk a bit more towards mile 8-9 as my run turned into an 11 minute mile 'shuffle'..but kept going..walked the big hill up to the top and then felt a slight surge towards the end and finished strong with a sub 8:30 mile and left it all on the course. Raced an AG'er to the finish and he beat me by one second. This turned out to be the difference in a 10th place finish in my age group vs. 11th. Overall the run was tough for me but I felt I left it all out there after the strong finish.

Nutrition

- 2 Hammer Gels (45 minutes apart during run)
- 2 Enduralytes before run
- Water/Gatorade at 'most' aid stations (skipped one or two)



Couple of things. First, I train with Heed and I carry it with me on my long runs. My body is trained to get fluid on demand and I think I should race this way. During the race I had to wait for the aid stations and I don't think that helps me. Also I started out too fast even though it felt comfortable. I really tanked after mile 7-8.

Saw the wife, kids and Nicki at the finish. (Nicki unfortunately was doing great until she pulled a glute muscle during the bike and had to pull out....) Walked around a bit as I was lightheaded. Took in plenty of water and tried to eat a bit but my body wasn't ready for food. Drove home with the wife and kids and walked around a bit more...then had a decent meal and tried to nap.


A few things:

- Swim needs work. Sighting and more direct line swimming.
- Transitions can be faster with some fine tuning. (minor)
- Run; need to carry fluid (Heed) with me as that's how I train.

Overall I felt I was well prepared for the race and can't wait to go again next year and get closer to the 5:15 mark.


A well organized race and plenty of volunteers. Post race food wasn't much but I guess I expected that. Sandwiches were pretty good. This was my first H.I.M. and it was a great challenge. I'll be ready for more next year!