this was not a very good swim for me. this was my first race where i really felt like i was starting off in a washing machine. i was getting hit, i was hitting people, my goggles got bumped a few times allowing water to get in. had to stop 3 times early on to let water out of my goggles and make sure i didnt lose a contac. i felt a bit of a panic coming on, but i fought hard to remain calm, get the breathing back under control, and focus on swimming in the same fashion as i train. dont go berzerk trying to make the front.

start more towards the front and to the side.

this is about my normal speed. although transition timing started as soon as we got out of the water, whereas my other races, T1 started timing you right when you entered transition area. no biggie.

nothing

very pretty course. AWESOME work by NATIONAL GUARD volunteers at EVERY INTERSECTION.
passed one guy around mile 1.
got passed around mile 5 and tried to hang with him going up the long hill. heart rate went through the roof and i knew i couldnt hang with him forever so i let him go, also realizing i hade 20 more miles to go and a 10k to run yet. some other dude followed about 200 feet behind me for probably 15 miles. i would leave him on the uphills, then he would be right back again on the downhills and the flats. finally he got past me and said that he was unable to overtake me on the hills and that we had a good pace. i caught him a few times later on some other smaller hills afterwards, but he was a beast on the flats. then got passed again around mile 23 or 24.

nothing. i was pushing pretty hard. probably as much as i would have pushed on a sprint race.

a little slower than usual.

do it faster

passed 2 guys early on. then got passed by 4 others at various stages of the course.
for not doing any bricks, i felt really good. although i dont think im going to drink Powerade during a race anymore. i was getting side stitches on the run and would burp to feel better and they were all powerade burps. i never got that with Gatorade.
my legs were really comfortable for the whole run and i would imagine that i ran negative splits. the further i got in the course the smoother things got. then near the finish i was able to sprint the last 100 yards or so for a strong finish.

no powerade on the bike.
figure out how to drink water while running.
most of it ran all over my face, choked on the rest, and even tried to throw some on my head and that managed to fly straight over my head. yes, im graceful.

guzzled some gatorade and water. ate a monster burrito and 3 big cookies.
hugged my wife and thanked her for all her support, even though its been a little tough for her lately.
waited for Scott to congratulate him and get his thought on his forst Olympic performance.


nothing. i felt like i raced hard and paced it smart.


this was my first Oly.
the volunteer staffing for this was the best ive seen. people everywhere.
plus, the job these guys had to do was a large one. Rt.11 had a nasty accident saturday night and was closed, so traffic was diverted into Sunbury onto the tiny 2 lane front street. which also happened to be under construction. so not only did they have to stop and direct traffic for us racers, but also had a hige increase in volume due to Rt 11 being closed.
post race food was the bomb. AG trophy is cool, an old 45 record on an oak base. plus a finishers medal.
really, this was a great event. the RD and all those involved were very passionate about making this a great race. and they succeeded in my book.
i like this distance too. get to go longer at a pretty hard pace.
I'm signing up next year.