The swim start was a complete surprise. We were all milling about either in the water or on the ramp waiting for the "get set". Well, we never got it. Out of nowhere, the gun goes off! People were caught completely by surprise, many still didn't have their goggles on yet. Luckily for me, I was already in.
I started out easy, trying to find a pair of feet to draft. After catching a foot in the goggles, I abandoned that idea and just decided to swim. The swim was pretty uneventful for me. I got to the first turn bouy with only minor jostling. I was ready for the turn into the sun this year, I wore my mirrored goggles. Lesson learned from last year, couldn't see crap due to the sun. This year at least I could make out the distinct shape of the next turn bouy to sight off of.
I made the last turn and headed for shore. No major problems on the swim. I did have a little problem exiting the water though. The boat ramp was covered in what I can best describe as branacles. I was rushing to get out so I stepped on one and cut the crap out of my big toe. HTFU right?

Not much. I was pretty happy with my swim. It's never been a strong event for me, but I did manage to knock 40 seconds off last year's time. I still need to get a coach and improve my stroke, but that will have to wait until after IMWA.

Out of the water, goggles off, ran to bike, racked goggles, wiped off face, put on race belt, put on glasses, put on helmet, grabbed bike, ran to exit. First in age group and shaved 7 seconds off last year.

Maybe get to the race earlier and get a better spot?

After mounting the bike and getting up to speed, I slipped my feet into the shoes and started passing all the dolphins. I've really worked hard on my bike this year and was anxious to see if it payed off. The first part of the race is along the shore with the wind to your back. It was easy to do 28-29 MPH, which meant the turn into the wind was going to suck.
Made the right turn past the old ammo bunker and started for the airfield. Once out of the protection of the trees the wind hit and it hit hard. I tucked in as tight as I could and dropped down a few gears. Thankfully, there was a left turn onto a protected road, but it had the one hill of the course. It wasn't a bad hill, I managed to stay seated and passed quite a few people. I took it easy on the backside because I didn't trust my front brake, it was squeaking badly for some reason.
After the downhill and a left turn we headed for the tarmac. I wasn't looking forward to this part, I knew it was going to be the strongest wind yet and I was right. Turning into the wind was like hitting a wall. Again I tucked in and beared down until the turn around. It was a 180 degree turn so we got to enjoy the strong wind directly at our back. It was awesome doing 29-30 MPH for about 2 or so miles.
Of course, there was another 180 degree turn at the end of the tarmac, so once again, tuck and gut it out until a right hand turn, a little straight-away and another right leading back to T1.
One more loop almost exactly the same except for the final turn towards T2. The female winner caught me on the hill the second time around, but after she passed me I managed to stay with her (not drafting) the rest of the way. There were alot of position fouls and some drafting going on. But there wasn't a single ref on the course that I could see to penalize anybody. I don't think I commited any violations though, I was trying to be very concious of drafting zones and I made sure to drop back the few times I was passed. I didn't want to develop any bad habits that would show up in IMWA.

Maybe not ride a century the day before a race? I'm very happy with my bike. I managed an average speed of 20.6 and I knocked off over 3 minutes from last years time. The pro and all the elites were actually slower this year than last and I don't think they rode a 100 miles Saturday.

Took my feet out of the shoes prior to T@ entrance, jumped off bike running, racked bike, racked helmet and ran for shoe bag. Grabbed my bag, dumped out shoes, put on hat and shoes and took off.

Nothing, I'm happy with T2 as well, I dropped almost 42 seconds from last year and was first in age group again.

The run was pretty uneventful. I took off fro T2 intent on catching a few people. I passed one guy right away, looked like he cramped up off the bike and was going to have a suffer fest the rest of the way. I caught two more on the first hill. I really felt the downhill in y cut up feet and exausted quads, but I tried to keep a steady pace.
As I turned up towards the second hill, I spotted a friend ahead that has beat me in every race so far. He looked like he was slowing and I thought I might be able to catch him. This is the closest I've ever been to him in a race so I figured I'd give it a shot. I started to close on him up the hill, he was maybe 20 seconds ahead of me as I turned downhill. I tried to open up my stride and let it all fly for the final mile, but my feet and legs had other ideas. The pain and exaustion allowed him to increase his lead. Within 1/2 a mile I knew he was out of my reach, so I just settled in and pushed as hard as I could to the end. In the end, he only beat me by 13 seconds.

Stay out of the barnacles and not ride a century the day before a race :)

Not much, walked around and drank water while cheering on the rest of the finishers.


Just the cuts on my feet and the 100 miles the day before.


Once again the Marines put on a great event. Other than the swim start everything went off without a hitch. One of the best races for the money on the island if you ask me.