I took in a big lung full of water about 100 yds in, and had to side stroke a bit to clear my lungs. Usually, I can cough under the water and just keep swimming, but every time I put my face in the water I wanted to inhale and got a little panicky for the first time in a long time. So... I did a few strokes on my side, cleared the water, and got on with the swim. Everything went pretty smoothly from there, and I really thought my swim time would be faster than it was.

Swim faster :)

Took off my cap and goggles, and stripped my wetsuit to my waist on the run into transition. Everything went smoothly. There was a long run through transition to the bike mount, so I'm pretty happy with the transition time.

Nothing

I tried using a 3x concentrate of Infinit followed with water for this race, and it worked great. I took a sip of the concentrate, then 3 sips of water throughout the bike course until mile 50. I ran out exactly when I had planned to stop nutrition on the bike to let my stomach settle for the run... couldn't have planned it better.

A few people passed me and I passed a few on the first loop. On the second loop I pushed a little harder since I was feeling good, and passed a couple people that had passed me earlier, plus a hand full of others.

I need to work on my climbing. Even the slight inclines slow me down a lot. I've also been told by a fit specialist that a road bike with aero bars would be a better fit for me, and I think I agree. I see a carbon road bike in my future, hopefully, soon! :)

I had some trouble getting my bike back on the rack, since there wasn't a lot of room with everyone else's bikes already on the rack. Plus, my stuff had been scattered a bit, so this transition took a little longer than I would have liked.

Bike faster, so the racks aren't so full when I get to transition. ;)

Stopped at the port-a-let at the beginning of the run. I think that little break helped loosen my legs a bit for the run. I felt pretty good the first 1.5 miles, then the uneven surface of the gravel road started to tighten up my achilles and calves. I stopped for a few seconds to try to loosen them up, but it's hard to just stand there and watch everyone pass you, so it wasn't long enough to really help. I tried to just run through it, but ended up walking the hills. They did loosen up after a couple miles.

From about mile 2 to 7 I ran with a girl named Sue. Having someone else there pacing me kept me from walking, but when we reached another hill I told her to go on, and I walked the hill. It was also great to see Sarah (sdbryant) out on the run. A smiling face and words of encouragement are such a lift to the spirit! Thank you, Sarah!

I definitely felt a lot better during this run than I did at Boise, but I still have work to do on the mental aspect of toughing out the run. I really think I COULD have run the entire course, but I gave in to the fatigue.

Drank water and 2 Hammer Gels on the run.

Just keep running

Jumped in the lake to cool off. Gasp! It was much colder without a wetsuit. :) Then, I walked to the food tent and got some grub.


I need to build a strong bike base, and work on pushing through the run despite fatigue.


Beautiful course, and well organized. I would do this one again.

I have to admit to being a bit spoiled by doing an MDOT race first though. You do get a lot more in the way of aid, support, goodies, and rockstar ambiance with those hefty race fees. :)