I'm not the strongest swimmer but decided to start up front. I figured it was better to have stronger swimmers go over top of me than for me to have to go over top of someone else.

The start was rough and I was getting hit and hitting quite a bit. There were very few times the entire swim where I was able to get open water. When I could find feet I'd draft as best I could but this swim was much rougher than IMFL.

I just tried to keep a good pace and keep my breathing easy. For some reason I swallowed a lot of water and actually started to feel a little blaoate.

I really can't complain about this swim time. I've always said my swim is what it is and as long as I'm close to the leaders I can make up the time. As it turns out I was 31st out of the water in my AG.

Not swallow so much water. :)

I grabbed my bag and took 2 steps into the tent and didn't see an empty space anywhere. I decided just to back out and get ready outside of the tent. I had a great volunteer all to myself who got everything out of my bag and re-packed it. My calves started to cramp as I was putting socks on but I was sure that was just due to the cold water.

All in all, a pretty good transition.

I knew the bike had to be paced properly if I wanted to survive the run. I'd ridden the course in February and I knew what to expect. I started easy coming out of T2 as the first 6 miles are pretty much downhill. I went easy up the first long hill and then headed through town. I was cruising along and was passing a lot of people and not getting passed by anyone. I was hoping I wasn't going to hard but I just went with what felt comfortable.

As I got through town we started heading into the mountains. Even on the first loop you could start to feel a little headwind. I was with a couple guys for quite a while on the first portion of the loop and then I dropped them at the switchback. Something was definitely wrong with my hydration because I peed 4 times (yes, 4 times, in the first 40 miles). I knew I swallowed water in the swim but there's NO WAY I should go that much.

I lost my 2nd bottle of nutrition on one of the cattleguards which meant I now had to stop at special needs to grab my spare bottle. After the switchback I really took it easy on the downhill back into town to prepare for the 2nd loop.

Things started going bad nutritionally on the 2nd loop. I was having a hard time absorbing my nutritional bottles and for some reason my feeling a little nausueas. I had to back off taking anything in and tried to drink more water. When I was done with the ride I was nowhere near the calorie intake I should've been at and I was hoping it wouldn't kill me on the run.

As I started up the hills again on the 2nd loop it was a very strange feeling. I was pretty much all by myself and the only people I was passing were people that were still on the 1st loop of the bike. The 2nd time over the switchback was an absolute bitch but I made it. Once over that I knew I had 1 more climb outside of Veyo and then it was all downhill to T2....

But wait, I forgot I had to take the bike path again and after that there was last little climb before heading into T2. The climb wasn't tough it was just a pain mentally when I thought all I had left was downhill.

As I made the last turn on Bluff Street into T2 my coach yelled to me that I was in 4th place in my AG. I was a little surprised because I didn't think my bike was that good. I guess it was better than I thought because I now moved from 31st to 4th.

I gotta make sure I can get my calories in. Not sure if it was the climbs or what but I need to get it figured out for Kona.

When I got into the transition tent it was almost an erie feeling. There were only 2 other people in the tent when I came in. Again, since I was pretty much all alone I had a great volunteer pull everything out and put it away.

Pulled my calf sleeves on, grabbed my hat and nutrion and stretched my legs a little and I was off.

I started up the hills and just wanted to hold a good pace. I was actually feeling pretty good which I was happy about because I was concerned my bad bike nutrition would bite me in the ass. I was able to hold form and pace well up the steep hill at Red Hills Parkway until I got to the very top and then BHAM, my left hamstring cramped up right at the aid station. I stopped to work it out and my left quad started cramping. I was pissed, there was NO WAY my race was going to get screwed at mile 4 when I knew I was in 4th place. I asked the volunteers for 2 Gatorades. I sucked them down and luckily I grabbed the salt tablets from my bike. Gulped down the 2 cups of Gatorade and asked the girls for 2 more. Drank those and asked for a banana. Ate the banana and asked for 2 more Gatorades. It was risky drinking that much as I wasn't sure I could absorb it but it was a chance I had to take.

It seemed to work. Cramps subisided and I was off. I had to shorten my stride a little but I was fine through the first turn around and even back to the turn at Bluff. The downhills were actually worse on my legs and eventually caused more cramping later on. I was passed by the eventual age group winner by this time so I knew I had dropped to 5th.

As I headed to the turnaround at the halfway point I must've passed someone in my AG because my coach told me I was in 4th place and that there wasn't anyone behind me that was gaining ground. At this point I decided I just had to hang on for 13 more miles.

I cramped and had to stop 3 more times on the last half to work them out. Every time I bent over to stretch I checked every racers calf to see what AG they were in. As long as I didn't see anyone from my AG I knew I was ok. There were times I had to run with my toes up completely striking with my heel because it helped stretch my calves and hamstrings to keep them from cramping.

I decided to walk the last big downhill on Red Hills Parkway because I knew the downhill would cause cramps. I did the same thing on the last little hills at the Elks Lodge. The strategy worked as I didn't cramp again and at that point I knew I could just cruise the last couple miles to the finish.

It was a great feeling the last couple miles as I had a pretty good sense that I had just earned my Kona slot. I was never 100% sure I was still 4th because someeone could've passed me that was wearing compression socks and I wouldn't have known their age group.

When I crossed the line I saw my wife and my coach and just put my hands up asking "where did I finish?" Did I get the slot? When my coach held up 4 fingers I lost it. All that hard work, all the sacrifices had just paid off.

I went to my wife and gave her a big hug and we were both in tears. We were going to Kona!

I've had cramping issues in my last few races and I need to figure out if it's a hydration/nutrition issue or bike pace issue.

Aside from the cramping I felt great! I had a lot more in me and could've been much faster on the run as I had plenty of jump left. I went for a massage, ate some pizza, and went to the finish line to watch my hockey buddy and others cross the line.


I talked to all the other guys on the podium in my AG and they all said this course is tougher than Kona.

Well, I guess I'll be able to determine that for myself come October 9. :)