Getting around the first buoy in the pack was a cluster. I made it and got out with about half a dozen people...but we were thrashing each other even though we had gapped the pack.
There was some mild difficulty sighting. On the first long stretch it was hard to see the yellow turn buoy and the orange guide markers were off course. The waves meant I had to lift up very high.

Fourth in my wave for the swim.

As I approached the second turn to go into the longest stretch, I saw a handful of caps from my wave about 15 meters ahead. They had made the turn. I let them go. After the turn I should have looked for them and made chase. Instead I just fell into a groove and tried not to burn up my legs.

I didn't really push any aspect of the swim after the first 75 meters or so until the last 100 meters. I could have done more without risk of blowing up.

Wetsuit was stuck at my knees and had trouble getting it off. Left T1 without my Clif Bloks. I opened them before the swim because it is a pain to open them while riding. But, since they were open I didn't want them in my pocket during the swim. Result: Forgotten.
I did run through the whole T1 with the bike and all the way down a several dozen yard long ally of grass to the road. This was slower than the people around me but was steady and I actually ran.
35/60 on the time.

Run a little faster with the bike. I can catch my breath on the bike at 14 mph instead of on foot in T1 at 2 mph.

Go back to taping nutrition to bike frame!

I used the big and the little chain ring although about 90 percent was in big chain ring. I went through all the gears and switched often to try to keep cadence above 85.
On the uphills, especially into the wind, my cadence would plummet from something steady in the 80s to about 65. To get back up to speed was extremely hard. I stayed in aero position nearly the whole way and stood up to climb 3-4 times. I sat up to drink. I drank one bottle of Gatorade and about 1/3 bottle of water. Took fluids every 20 minutes.
Maximum speed of 32.9 mph.
On the second lap of the bike I started to see my age group start to pass me regularly and guys in their 40s. This is the segment of the race that will determine whether or not the final time is any good. I need to keep working here.


Work on steady uphill riding. Bring nutrition with me. Perhaps focus a couple of 5 minute periods where I could drop the hammer before falling back to regular pace.
My goal upon arrival was to average 22mph. I wasn't close. The course allowed for it, the wind took some out of me, but mainly I wasn't strong enough. Need more intervals on the bike. Also, need to lose 15 pounds to make my power ratio respectable.

I felt brisk through the T2. No extra movements. Shoes went on...I grabbed Shot Bloks, hat on and out the gate.
50/60 on this transition. This is ridiculous. I thought it was quick...but I was nearly last in the age group.

I felt extremely slow and every time I seemed to get into a groove, I would find myself grinding uphill with extremely short strides again.
At some point, I need to just go for it and see what happens when running. Maybe I could run 8 minute miles?
The last 300 meters were strong. Leading into the woods and out into the grassy runway toward the finish shoot I was able to accelerate and find a good stride.

Try to negative split the first two miles. Also, the first time that I lose the pace, i.e. mile 4 here, I made a big effort to get back into the groove. That was mostly a head game that I could do throughout the whole run course. Stronger mental focus.

Mild stretching; plate of pasta and some Oreos with Gatorade. 5 bottles of water.


I haven't run enough lately. Also, the mental focus wasn't there -- i.e. the difference between 22 and 20 mph is focusing on speed or the difference between 8:00 and 8:45 run splits.


Everyone was friendly, the Set Up people know what they are doing. The sign-in process could have been faster but it was not a major problem. There was parking, portajohns, food and lots of signage. The course is designed for an awesome bike split.
Rankings in race report are for age group. Overall for men, the rankings were 27th in swim, 167 T1, 238 bike, 308 T2, and 260 on the run out of 382.