The water was not nearly as cold as I was expecting. It was actually pretty comfortable, and I got off to a decent start. There was a lot of contact on the swim, even more than at IMAZ. I coudn't swim more than 10 strokes without getting bumped. As far back as I felt I was from the pack, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get into clear water. I was also veering left for some reason - I normally veer right, so I aim left to compensate - my new change in direction resulted in my getting off course a few times. It wasn't a good swim, but I kept making progress. My breathing wasn't good either, but there were stretches where I felt my speed and rhythm were solid - they were just short lived.

I probably should have gone 15-20 yards in one direction or another and got into clear water - would have saved a lot of headaches and frustration along the way.

Was a little disoriented out of the water. Took extra time to apply sunscreen (and still managed to miss my back), and struggled with my gloves and shoes. Slow transition.

A little more urgency.

I felt good on the bike for the most part, and passed a lot of people, but thinking back, I should have been much faster. I was only passing the weaker swimmers that I was with in the water and wasn't catching up to the faster folks. I settled into the pack I was in when I should have been pressing the pace and chasing faster packs. It was hilly, and the climbs took a while, esepcially two last hills leading into Show Low. They were pretty demoralizing so close to the end. I am really unhappy with my average pace and placement on the bike - I settled in instead of attacking. I should have done so much more - missed opportunity.

Attack, attack, attack. It was hilly, yes - but not THAT hilly.

Was not looking forward to running - tired and hot. Sally saw me and yelled some encouragement. She had done the aquabike event and looked strong and fresh, even though she was done with her event - I envied her. :) Applied sunscreen again, and missed my back (again). Took too much time.

Could have been faster - as the remainder of the race progressed, critiquing T2 would be nit picking - a slow T2 was a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the race...

I knew I was in trouble about 1/10 of a mile into the 'run'. When I started running, I ran out of breath almost immediately. To that point, I didn't feel that the altitude had affected me, but it was rearing its ugly head now. It was also getting hotter which wasn't helping matters. I slowed to a walk to try to catch my breath and tried to get going again. My legs felt like lead and I was out of breath again. I struggled my way to the first aid station at mile 1.

At the aid station, I ran into Tom. He was doing the 1/2 and it had already been a long morning. I can't even imagine how much of a wreck I would have been if I had biked twice the distance I had. We walked together and talked for a bit before I sent him on his way. It couldn't do much for me physically, but it definitely helped me mentally.

I made and broke countless deals with myself on this run. 'Just run to x point and then collect myself', I kept thinking. I would start to run and find myself pulling up, exhausted and breathless long before point x ever came. I had deteriorated into 'keep moving forward' mode.

I didn't feel alone in my struggles. A lot of people looked to be having trouble, but even those who were walking were going faster than my short legs would carry me. I continued to slip further back and watch helplessly as the people I had passed on the bike went by. Thankfully, since the 1/2 was going on, there were plenty of people around - otherwise, this would have been a very lonely run. I saw Dan Cadriel approaching from the front on an out and back. He is VERY fast and was doing the 1/2. We were on a gravelly stretch of road, and right before he came by, he tripped and fell right in front of me. I helped him up and asked him if he needed medical. He declined, of course, got up and got to running again. I found out later he still managed to get 7th place overall for the 1/2. Let that be a lesson to me of how to recover when something knocks me off my game. That's one reason he is who he is and I finish near the back.

In between miles 4 and 5, I saw Tom up ahead. When I saw him on the out and back, he told me he had turned his ankle on the gravel and was considering stopping after his first loop. Since I was having a rough time, my goals for the race were trashed, and I wanted the company of a friend, I got my legs and lungs to work long enough to catch up.

I finally joined Tom, and he was hurting worse than I was with his sprained ankle. As bad as this race was for me, and as much as having to walk my way through the 10k of an Olympic was a low point for me, spending that time with Tom was a highlight of the day for me. Even though my lousy time will be there for all to see, and I will remember the disouraging sensation of not being able to get my legs to carry me, I will at least have the fond memory of finishing out my race with a friend I hadn't seen in a while - in fact, the last time we had seen each other was when we ran and walked together for a little bit during the IMAZ marathon. It was fun to reminisce about a happier day and time.

We reached the mile six marker and I jogged the rest of the way in. To add insult to injury, they had run out of Olympic finisher's medals by the time I got there. I am supposed to get it in the mail in a couple of weeks. In some ways, that is poetic justice. Since my actual finish was delayed much later than it should have been, the receipt of the medal probably should be, too.

I can't get oxygen pumped up to the mountains from the valley, and I can't train at altitude, so I need to work on my running enough that it doesn't affect me so much.

Joined Jenna and Barkley. One saving grace of the day is that Barkley had a BLAST. She got to hike and swim and be around people - she loved it, but she was exhausted. J told me later that she could barely make it from the transition area to the area of the park where I picked them up. I told them to start heading toward the entrance to the park and I would get my things out of tranisiton, ride my bike back to the remote lot and drive back to get them. I picked them up and we drove back to the Valley like we were fleeing the scene of a crime.


So many things - see above.


Despite my troubles, and despite the issue with the finisher's medals, it was a well put togther race. There was plenty of support and plenty of great volunteers. Had my mental focus and physical ability on race day been better, it would have been a much better experience.

There have been races when my mental focus hasn't been there and others where my physical effort was off. To this point, I have never had both happen on the same day. In a town named for gambling, I rolled the dice and came up with snake eyes. I haven't been completely owned by a course this badly since Pumpkinman in '07 - but I was a less trained athlete then. Looking at the stark reality of the numbers, this was likely my worst race ever - at least from a perspective of the gap between preparation/ability and performance on race day. The season is half over now, and it has been rough so far. However, there is still time to right the ship and salvage my two big events. I'll work hard on the swim between now and Alcatraz, and turn to some hill focus for Silverman. 2010 won't be my best season ever, but it won't have to be a complete wash, either.