After all the rushing around... I get to the start line and it's just one big hurry up and wait. I got my wet suit on and then stood in line for 20 minutes waiting to start as they did their pre-race talk... I know it's for first timers, but truly annoying when you have to rush thru set-up to listen to something you've heard many times before.

My bib number was 266.... so I had a long wait to start. When I entered the water though... it took less then :30 to start swimming. Everything moved quickly. I set my pace and just cruised along. I passed a few people... was passed by a few and generally enjoyed a lovely swim. I tried to draft off a pair of feet, but they were wandering all over the place, so gave that up. If I could find someone that could swim a straight line, I would enjoy drafting... it sure is easier swimming in someone's wake.

Made the first turn buoy in less then 10 minutes I think... cut across to the next turn, and headed back down to the start. I only had to breast stroke once to get my bearings. My breathing was relaxed and my stroke was good. I am not fast, but I can maintain that speed for a long, LONG time. This was my fastest 750m swim in a race yet. I am exceedingly pleased, since I've only swam 2 or 3x since February. :)

On the turn back across the canal, I again had trouble with maintaining a straight line into the finish. The current tends to push you downstream and I keep forgetting this and end up having to do way more correcting then I'd like. IF I do this race again, I'll try and aim for the buoy to the right of the start so I can end up at the finish.

Find a pair of feet to draft that doesn't wander all over the place.
Sight better into the finish.

The time was split between the 450m run up to transition (3:05) and the transition time (2:35). This 450m run from the finish of the swim to the transition, to me that's cruel and unusual punishment for a triathlon. Wogged my way to transition in my shoes... which I had left at the end of the swim... and made my way to my bike. Suit was stuck on my heels... but that could be because I had no time to put on glide. No worries... not trying to win the race.

While in transition, I took my time to get everything on and ready. Had some nutrition and eLoad... and I was off.

Run more.

As is my want... I hammered this bike out pretty well. Coming out of transition, I mounted smoothly and began the progression of passing. Because of the time trial start, everyone was spread out evenly, so I always had some one to set my sights on. The roads weren't crowded with big bunches of people. I only had one instance of passing two cyclists, while one was passing the other. When you're going 5 km/h faster though... it's not a big issue.

For the first 15 km, I kept the cadence high and the effort low because we were heading into the light breeze, yet I was maintaining 33 km/h for the most part. This kept my legs fresh. When I turned around, I put the hammer down, but didn't over do it. Still kept the cadence high but I was using bigger gears.

Get to the race earlier so I can prep properly. I didn't have any nutrition on the bike other then my eLoad and water... and that wasn't enough.

Took my time, put socks on and ate some more. Drank some eLoad and took off.

See bike... need nutrition on bike to avoid having to eat in transition.

Now we come to the death march. I started out ok... had to walk every 5 minutes or so, but that was expected. At first aid station I stopped to get some more Infinit (race fuel) and water... drank Infinit and dumped water on my head. Continued this for the first 3k.. then there was a LONG gap between aid stations and that was bad. It wasn't hot, but it was extremely humid and by the time I got to the next aid station I was suffering. My legs were close to cramping, I was having chills (dehydrated), yet I was smoking hot and sweating like crazy. I ended doing a lot more walking then I wanted... but I finished on the run. I had nothing left to chase down the guy that blew by me going into the finishing shute.

Run training would be nice... unfortunately, the achilles tendon is still not good. I felt it tightening up during the run and that's another reason I walked a lot.

Walk to the arena... get some food, sit down and rest.