Started on the far right, and made an effort to stay outside of the group, which a couple of other guys were also doing. Made a conscious effort not to push too hard the 1st half, although course corrections burned some of that energy; unlike the sprint, I wasn't nearly so far off course for the outbound segment. Before the yellow turn buoy I noticed some powder blue and red caps in the water, while most of the really fast guys in my group were well ahead. I also noticed well before the turn that the group was pretty stretched out, and there wasn't a large number of swimmers to sight on.
Despite having to swim straight into the sun, I sighted better going out than headed for shore. Once I was inbound, I spotted a cluster of lite blue caps, and thought to sight off them but somehow, ended up wide left...just like in the sprint. Constant course corrections as I popped my head up periodically probably cost me a minute, and when I was within 200m of the beach I looked up to find a kayak paddling next to me; when I turned to see how far off course I was, he said "hey, you're doing great!" and I thought 'dude you have no idea'.
Hit the sand with my fingertips, stood up and jogged up to T1...skittered through both hoses and bypassed the wading pools headed toward transition.

The hindsight from the sprint paid off on this swim, I'd like to be a bit higher w/in the group but Rome wasn't built in a day. I have the strength and a decent stroke, just need a straighter line.
More effort to triangulate between pods of swimmers and the buoys. If I can do this, I can get out of the water at least a minute faster, with no additional energy spent.

I knew this took longer than last month - I was racked on the far side from the swim entrance, and felt like I was fumbling a little with the gear when I got there, probably because of the wetsuit hanging up a little on the timing chip; likewise fumbled with number/helmet/glasses slightly, nothing to lose sleep over.

Practice T1, which I don't see in the schedule between now and August

Recurrance of the theme, I have no climbing legs. From the false flat until the beginning of The Hill, a remarkable number of bikes passed me by, even as I passed several myself. Granted, a lot of them were guys on flat frames and wearing funny hats, but more than a couple were half my age and weight...probably putting out half the effort too.
Oddly, an odd solace was on The Hill, walking bikes up in a stream (even saw a few people just stopped. Really? Its a race, the clock's running, get your butt in gear!), which just motivated to climb and continue. Yes, I granny-geared most of it, and grumbled about the subsequent little climbs since my legs were now pretty blown. Grabbed a water bottle at the top and soaked my back thoroughly, it felt great.
Going down the back side of The Hill was a rush, the guy across the road from the Sheriff shouted something as I went by but the odo said 33-34 when I glanced down, so all good. Left Hand Canyon was shady, and cool, esp. with the wet jersey. By mile 15 I noticed I was draining the mounted bottle so grabbed the water bottle from my frame to refill...as I'm squeezing the water with my left hand, the right aero arm pad snaps in the middle and leaves me with no support for 11 more miles. crap, and oh well.
At around mile 21-ish, right after the turn on Jay Road and brand new clean-looking pavement, my front tire caught something and made a big-ass firecracker pop, and I spent the next minute watching for it to go down flat. But it didn't, so I tried to focus and having a better run. hehe, still makes me laugh inside!

Hills, hills, more hills, and strength training for the climbing muscles.
Also, in hindsight, I probably consumed more fluids than necessary during the ride even though I had tried to Friday and Saturday to re-hydrate from a week in the mountains. Paid for it during the run.

Not bad I guess, paused after shoes and hat to take an extra bottle swig, and decided to leave the Nathan bottle pack behind. Can't afford to do that next month.

If there's an inkling to tinkle, it won't go away. Take the time hit in transition, because a mile was a long time to wait, especially since you can see the porta next to the aid tent for over a half mile across the dam - and see all the other folks who made the same mistake, getting relief before you.

Early into the run, the toes on my right foot went numb. That kinda sucked, but my back didn't hurt too bad and I had no foot pain, or IT band pain, or any other pain. Just numb toes, and no idea why. Never felt that off the bike before.
While my legs were moving in 'running mode' it felt pretty good, unfortunately I had to listen to my body and take the stride breaks when called for. I had a few Gu chews left from the bike that I'd though to grab, and felt the pickup after those went down, but didn't have enough to wash them down adequately. Yes, eat them before the aid stations.
The other reason I mentioned hydration above was somewhere around mile 4 or 5, I got an odd 'fuzzy' feeling in my forearms, not unlike a flu onset can feel. I'd been taking drink and soaking my head at each aid station, at the last one took extra time to drink more and soak more - seemed like a good decision when a guy 100 yards up the line did a slow controlled collapse in the middle of the dam. It was hot out there, as usual.

Run more. Run further. Run more consistently. Follow an actual running plan. Get a running coach. Gosh, this list could go on forever....
Void while in transition, or add the time to the run. I think the pee break cost me ~1 minute, or 10 seconds/mile. Just sayin'...

Walked around for a while, went to see about massage but the line was long, and not moving - unlike the food and the beer. So I ate, and had a Pils, and laffed at the non-participant who asked the Left Hand girl if she had a Bud Light.
Also talked to Keri, talked to Kathleen, checked results and then saw transition was open so got out of Dodge...


the usual...


Best I've been in, but I don't have ten events under my belt yet.