Pretty much a mass start, I think it was men 30-49, a very large group. I went to the extreme inside and swam inside until the first turn bouy. Benefits: I breath to right and could watch the group for navigation so sighting forward was much less frequent and far fewer swimmers. Draw backs: swimming into wind/current, starting on far right would've allowed riding the waves to the first turn bouy.

As the pack tightened up near the first turn it got pretty physical for awhile but I managed to just keep swimming. Again at second turn, but not quite as bad. I stuck to the plan pretty well of swimming in a relaxed manner and controlled pace.

Felt some fatigue in neck and shoulders in the last 1/3, probably somewhat fatigued still from Tuesday's openwater swim and Thursday's Masters class.

Give the swim a little more rest before the race, I felt the openwater practice was worthwhile though. Maybe swim at a higher exertion level, I think it is mainly a confidence thing knowing if I get tired/dunked I can recover rather than giving up some time to avoid those things.

12th fastest T1 OA, 2nd AG. Loooooooong run on the pavement from the beach to my bike, my feet were killing me, pretty raw from running around barefoot the night before at a culdesac BBQ.

not much, maybe slow down the run a little bit, my HR was skyrocketed when I got on the bike.

Drank most of a 20 bottle of Hammer Perpetuem, say 1.5 scoops of powder and 60 oz water. Tried a GU Chomp but the liquid fuel was much more paletable.

First quarter lap was struggling to get into rythm, played the avoid drafting, cat and mouse game with a couple other guys before a tight pack of 3 passed me by LVCC, I started feeling better about that time and, being moderately pissed about that blatent drafting, caught and passed them and let 'er eat for a little while, didn't see the drafters again and swapped spots with the non-cheaters a few more times as the hills and wind mixed things up.

Second lap was pretty crowded as the sprint traffic mixed in, I expended a bunch of energy in the tight stuff accelerating out of corners, it was fun but not real smart from a race standpoint. Average power was 225W.

avoid or minimize the higher efforts, they don't give much time and hurt quite a bit on the run.

41st OA, 9th AG. Put on socks in T2 due to hamburger feet, that could have gone faster. Pulled Garmin from bike mount and stuck in jersey pocket before dismount.

take better care of feet in days and weeks leading up to race so I can run without socks.

Ran slightly on the pain side of discomfort the whole way. My quads were on the verge of cramping and calves weren't much better. The short steep hill followed by downhill about mile 1 was particularly cruel. Managed a fairly even pace given that I felt slow but knew that going faster would result in cramping. Didn't get passed by anybody near my pace, left in the dust by a couple of speedsters but kept the pace up enough to stay out of reach of those closer to my speed.

Took a splash of gatorade, a splash of water, then dumped the rest on head at each aid station.

I was expecting to go at 6:40-6:45 per mile pace not 7:00, but I ran as hard as I was capable on this day, maybe too much on the bike, probably just need to do some bricks after longer/intense rides.

stood around and talked and ate, stood in line for a massage for 1/2 hour then gave up.


perhaps preparation, possibly too much expended on bike (or unwisely spent). Was targeting under 2:20, needed to run 6:45s to get there. No complaints or regrets though, got 3rd in AG in a pretty large race, and the prize was a nice 64oz Growler, definitely a keeper.


Great post race activities and excellent race, I think this one will continue to grow. Note the "Triathlon Experience" was not as good an experience as last year, still a good value with the reserved parking, shade for the family, and extra swag but the porta-crapper to athlete ratio was low as was the masseuse to athlete ratio.