2010 time- 24:07
2009 time- 25:15

I was very happy to finally get the race underway. The first 2/3rds of the swim went, uh, swimmingly, for lack of a better term! I got in a good rhythm right away and was able to stick with my 8 strokes before sighting routine. I felt like I was passing people right and left, while I tried hanging on to draft off those passing me...still gotta work on my drafting technique. My only regret is that I didn't stick close at all to the buoys where the current is supposed to be stronger.

After passing under the 2nd bridge I was swimming very close to the river bank when I started feeling the weirdest current. For a while it felt like it was pushing me hard to the right, out toward the middle of the river. Then for a minute or so it felt like I was in an endless pool with the current coming from straight in front of me. As a result, I started feeling really disoriented and a bit queasy...first time I've every felt this way in the water. I finally saw the swim exit and was VERY happy to be on dry land again. I was pleasantly surprised to see my time after the race because I had absolutely no feel for how long it took.

Swim closer to the middle of the river and find some feet to draft off of.

2010 time- 2:16
2009 time- 2:27

Better than average T1 for the long jog involved and size of the transition area. Heart rate was spiked as usual.

Nothing.

2010 time- 1:15:30 (20.7 mph)
2009 time- 1:19:32 (19.7 mph)

This is the area where I've worked the hardest and picked up the most time over last year...and the area where I still have a lot of room to improve. The bike course was tougher than I remembered from last year. The climbs are not extremely steep, but they're very long. I started the ride with my heart rate in the high 170s, while my goal was to average in the low 160s. It took me a while to settle in but I felt great when I finally did.

The only good part about starting late in the race is the ability to slingshot past all those you pass. I took the most advantage of this that .I could, getting a legal benefit as often as I could...don't hate. Before I knew it I was back to downtown Chattanooga; feeling good`but also feeling the temp. rising.

Nothing. I've got more work to do in this area, but I'm very happy to see progress.

2010 time- 1:18
2009 time- 1:14

Very happy with how T2 went. Had a little difficulty slipping running shoes on, but was out pretty quickly in comparison to others in my age group.

Nothing.

2010 time- 47:30
2009 time- 49:22

Even though I knocked about 2 minutes off of last year's run, the 2 times are hard to compare. Last year, it was overcast and a light rain started falling right as I started the run. This was key to help me stay cool. This year, the sun was beating down and I had to work really hard just to stay cool. At each water stop I drank water or gatorade and then dumped 2 cups of water on my head.

My goal coming into the race was to run a 45 minute 10k, but the heat had me lowering the bar as each mile went on.

Mile 1- 7:49
Mile 2- 7:29
Mile 3- 7:36
Mile 4- 7:21
Mile 5- 7:40
Mile 6- 8:04
Last .2- 6:01 pace

The last 2.5 miles or so were really difficult, but I was determined to keep running as fast as I could. It was fun seeing and high fiving TONS of ATCers along the run and encouraging each other to keep gutting it out. Running up the steep hill with a mile to go I almost started walking, but I kept slowly chipping away at it anad was finally on the home stretch.

After coming down the stairwell I knew the rest of the race was downhill to the finish. I saw 2 or 3 runners with 30-something on the their calves, so I decided to sprint to the finish to hopefully move up a few spots. Who knows, with the time trial start they probably started 10 minutes after I did and beat me by 9:45!

Make it 20 degrees cooler! Heat is my biggest run limiter. Ran as hard as I could given the conditions.

Staggered around the finish line then ate some pizza and drank a delicious beer. Did some light stretching for the next hour or so.


Heat and overall conditioning.


I love this race! Great organization, great volunteers, great food and beer, easy logistics, and best of all, lots of teammates to enjoy it with! I will continue to do this one as long I'm racing.