Best tri swim so far. Although swimming is clearly my limiter, I felt good for most of swim. Breathed well, swam well, not much break like in past races. Probably helped that the lake was completely flat, no waves or chop or anything. Definitely got tired towards the end, form started going to shit. Also, goggles fogged up so I had trouble sighting. This was compounded by the fact that the buoy colors (yellow and orange) were the same as the cap colors in my wave and the wave before!

De-fog goggles

Quick (for me) T1. Suit off easily, shoes and helmet on easily. Included long run up hill.

Nothing.

Abolutely hammered the bike. Felt good right away, was worried that I was going too hard because I kept passing people. Didn't end up getting passed at all on the entire bike. Hills felt pretty good, only had to get in the granny gear for a couple of them. Stayed in the saddle for all but one hill (small roller, almost fell when I stood up). Hammered all of the downhills, but felt relatively in control. Had to maneuver around a car to re-enter the park. Drank about 44 oz of cytomax. Probably too much for the bike, but my plan was to drink a lot on the bike so I didn't have to drink during the run. Also had a hammer gel about 45 min into the bike.

Drink a little less.

Little trouble running on the pavement after dismounting. Otherwise quick transition. Had a cliff shot (too thick).

Nothing.

The dreaded Columbia run course. Didn't feel too good at the start, drank two cups of water at start. The aforementioned GI difficulties started creaping up, was worried I'd have a bout of EBS (Explosive Butt Syndrome). Decided to not drink as much water as I would normally, and the GI problems eventually subsided. As far as the actual run, it went well otherwise. The dreaded hills actually didn't seem bad to me, probably all that crazy trail hill running I did in college. I actually dreaded the downhills more (hurt my legs and knees). Drank a cup of water at the 3 mile mark. I was definitely starting to get dehydrated around 4.5 miles, but I figured I would be better off just trying to push through and finish. I'm terrible at drinking from the cup while running, I pretty much have to stop. Also, started to get pretty hot towards the end, so I dumped a couple cups of water over my head.

Drink a little more

Walking and stretching. Also had a double serving of Endurox plus a naproxen. Had trouble eating much (quessy stomach) so just had some Gatorade, a bagel and a banana.


Swim technique/endurance.


Great race organization, something like 800 volunteers for ~1500 athletes. Food afterwards was a little limited though (unless I missed something).