This was not as bad as New Orleans, but it was the 2nd worst swim that I have ever done. It was rough out there! Have you ever swam through breakers? I haven't!....until now. Kinda cool though when the breaker lifts you 5 feet up and then drops you straight down.

After the breakers, it was a bit "easier" to swim but the rollers out there still did a number on you. My sighting was great, it was just swimming through that was plain old hard. There were 9 buoys out, and 9 back, so counting the buoys helped break the swim up.

On the way back, the swells felt like they were propelling you forward, but they really didn't. They just threw you into fields of seaweed. Gross! Some portions were so thick it got all wrapped up around your goggles and your arms. It was like swimming through spaghetti!

I was quite happy getting out of the water, and despite it being a slow swim and rough and being beat up, I still had a ton of energy.

Because there was no returning to the beach post race, you had to bag up all your swim stuff before you headed out onto the bike. This was good because it limited the amount of extra crap that you normally bring to a race (i.e. 3rd and 4th pair of backup goggles, backup Body Glide, backup sun screen, etc).

The sky at this point was basically clear and the sun was shining bright. It was going to be a hot day!.....and conditions perfect for nasty sunburns, so I took the extra time and covered myself well with sunblock.

Rhode Island is a fairly flat state, right? Well, it is, but they do have some rollers to keep it honest. Each roller by itself isn't bad, but after roller after roller after roller it started to add up. I was averaging over 20mph throughout most of the course, until the very end, when the course starts to come into Providence.

I basically went too hard, and it proved fatal later on. I thought I had learned from my mistake at Timberman last year! NOPE! I figured, hey, I have been averaging near 200 watts for 56 miles during my last two rides, I can do it today! Well I did, but this terrain was very deceptive and I knew I cooked myself a bit too much by mile 50.

This course is harder than Timberman, even though it doesn't appear to be. This is how I know. At Timberman last year, I averaged in the 170's for watts and went about the same time as yesterday. Yesterday I was near 200 for the same time AND I am lighter than last year, which means it takes MORE power to accomplish the same feat == hillier course overall. This is good because that means I guess I can let it rip @ Timberman next month and be ok, but bad in that I let my ego get the best of me. I have a power meter and I wasn't respecting it!

Lesson learned! (again)

So the final 6 miles of the bike course were through the not-so-great parts of Providence. A woman was hit by a car. People were pulling out on the bike course. It was turn after turn after turn like a Criterium race. We went over about 4 sets of railroad tracks and after each set of tracks the road was littered with bottles, entire cages, sunglasses and all kinds of other miscellaneous stuff. I swear those last 6 miles killed my speed average. My right hand was actually going numb from all of the shifting and death gripping the bars.

Not my favorite bike course...

When I finally pulled into T2 the heat was starting to get to me, but I was happy to be off the bike. Sprayed more sunblock on me and I was off for misery....

That. Sucked.

Going too hard on the bike meant one thing: a long and painful run. The heat at this point in the day didn't help. I think it was approaching 90 degrees and the humidity and LARGE lack of shade wasn't contributing. I was feeling "off" right from the start.

At the first aid station I was already walking and there was a woman there with sunscreen. I had her slather it all over me. Meanwhile I was already dumping water over my head and chomping on ice. I was melting!

Right at mile one you hit this short, but really steep hill That.Just.Sucks. I walked halfway up it and then ran the 2nd half. Fortunately there was a nice downhill after that.

By mile 3.1-ish @ the timing mat, I was so cooked. That was the fastest part of the run for me, but also the MOST dreadful 3.1-ish miles of running in my life. Around mile 4 you get to back up that nice downhill, but this time I finally settled in a bit and ran up the entire hill without stopping grasping chunks of ice in my hands. Man oh man does that cool me down!

On the ensuing downhill a big cloud showed up and blocked the sun. It was such a relief! So running in the heat is one thing, but running in heat with the sun beating down on you is something entirely more painful. There were a few sections of the course where you would run under bridges and the shade under there re-energized you, only to lose it once you stepped back out into the sun.

At the turn around to start loop #2 I couldn't mentally take it. I did NOT want to go back out there and repeat that again. It was too painful! But because I knew what to expect, I sucked it up and just went. I knew where to walk, and I knew where to just take it on the chin. This helped and mentally the 2nd loop went faster than the 1st.

At mile 9.3-ish near that aid station at the timing mat, I hit my 2nd to last low. The mental garbage started to flood my brain. Suddely Timberman was out. I was done with triathlon for the season. The marathon was still in, but Lake Placid was definately gone and all I wanted to do ever again was sprints and Olympics.....next year. I was seriously done for.

At mile 12 I did my last bit of walking. I said to myself, "There is one mile left. ONLY 1 mile. You have done only 1 mile as a warmup for race and thought nothing of it." That 1 mile fortunately went by quickly and there was the finish line. I saw people going out for their 2nd loop and I felt so bad for them.

The good points that I am going to take from this run are that I was hydrated and nutritioned well on the bike and I held this over onto the run, so fuel wasn't the issue, just willpower and melting conditions and going too hard on the bike.

The heat and going too hard on the bike.