The shout went out and we waded/ran in - very long run in (slow grade into the water). Finally got deep enough to swim and I dove in. At this point, my adrenaline was pumping and I could tell I needed to relax a bit. Slowed down for a bit and popped up to see how things were going. Everyone was swimming in the same basic direction, so I decided to follow some feet (couldn't get in the right position to draft) for a while before sighting again. Next time I popped up, I noticed the buoy was way off to my right and I was taking a long arc out...arrgghh! Started sighting on the buoy, made the first turn and felt ok. I knew I wasn't a speedy swimmer coming into this and I felt like I could easily finish. Just kept plugging away until the turn back to shore...at this point someone started swimming really close to me (keep in mind, the field had significantly thinned out and there was plenty of room) and kept kicking me. I stopped for a count of 10 to let them get out of my way, and then started swimming again. Once my hand touched the bottom, I stood up, unzipped the wetsuit, took the cap, goggles and ear plugs out and left them in the sleeve and I took the top down.

Not sight at the beginning of the swim. Don't assume that everyone else is sighting correctly.

Ran up the beach to transition and noticed that Art was sitting on the ground getting his wetsuit off. I asked if he would like help and he seemed surprised but said, "Sure, if you don't mind." I reached over, grabbed his wetsuit and popped it right off. Now, why *wouldn't* I take a couple of seconds to help him out...totally the right thing to do.

Suit off, socks (which were rolled - much better than last time), shoes on, helmet on, gus in front pocket, powered on the Garmin (shoot! I meant to start it before the swim but totally forgot) sunglasses on, bike off the rack and on my way.

I could have shaved a couple of seconds off by not helping Art...but I am glad I didn't.

Heart-rate was still high from swim/transition - so I spent a bit of time at the start of the ride trying to settle down. Once I felt like I had slowed the HR down, I then felt like I could start riding the course. Going up 105 was ROUGH (the road is in terrible condition). I really liked that it was a two loop course, so I told myself to take it easy, reassess how I felt at the start of the second loop and then push hard if it felt right.

There was great support on the route (the volunteers did a fantastic job stopping traffic at important intersections, lots of signs showing the route, etc). As I turned off of 105 onto 235, one of the folks that I run with on Friday nights was the course guide! Tried to drink something every 15 minutes or so. As I got to the start of the second loop, I glanced at the timer...56 minutes. Arrgghh! Much slower than I wanted - but right in line with what I thought I could do. Took a gel and kept going. Pushed it until the final turn onto 52 (about 2 miles from transistion), drank the last of my front water bottle and ate another Gu). Glanced down at the Garmin and saw 1:28! Woot! Got a negative split going on the bike. Yeah!

Maybe a touch harder on the first loop, but really wanted to save it for the run. My average speed looks good for me!

Had to pee from about 10 minutes on the bike, so decided before I got into T2 that I would use the porta potties during this transition. Ripped the bike shoes off, jammed the visor on, slipped the runners on (love those Yankz), grabbed the Aquaphor and ran to the porta potties (which, unfortunately were about 300 ft in the opposite direction of the run out), did my stuff while lubing up my under arms (which suffer from serious chafing), ran past my transition area and dropped off the Aquaphor and out the gate.

Not have to pee.

Went out a little too fast at the beginning, but settled right in. Almost 1/2 mile in, a really fast running guy passed me going the other way...turns out he was the winner! With this being an out and back for the start and finish, I got to see a lot of people coming back - which I really liked (because it was a local race and I got to see a lot of people that I knew). I had told Matt and the kids to be at a certain intersection at 11:30 (thinking that that would be the very earliest I could possibly be at that place on the run)...as I passed the intersection, I could see the kids getting out of the car. I was so psyched! I was going at a better than expected pace AND the family gave me a good yell!

Turned up the start of the lollipop - which is a 2/3 mile uphill grind. The course was pretty spread out, but I could see a few people up ahead. Passed one lady (Did you catch that - I passed someone, running, up.a.hill? Will wonders never cease?) who did not look good. Made it to the top (woot!) and started down. About halfway down the hill, I hear a tremendous BBRRAAAPPP behind me, I whipped around and said, "Nice One!" No response...probably embarrassed. I kept going and this person passes me with headphones on. Now, that really chaps my hide. This is a USAT-sanctioned race. No headphones allowed. I wasn't wearing headphones. But she was. So, she missed out on my witty reparte about the epic burp.

Went back past where the kids were (right next to an aid station), they gave me my water (nice!) and knew I was only 2 miles from the finish line. Kept chugging along, started to feel achy and a touch crampy in my hamstrings. Went up the last hill and started to push what little I had left the last 1/4 mile. The family had driven to the finish line and was right there as I crossed. I pushed as hard as I could and was very happy to stop running at the end.

After checking my watch, I realized that when I run this route with my friend first thing in the morning, my usual time was between 1:04 and 1:06...this time *after* swimming and biking it was 1:11. Pretty happy with that!

Keep training on the run.

Got hugs and kisses from the family, drank some water, took off my shoes and waded into the lake (that felt good!). Chatted with some friends and then started to crash. Everything hurt or was tired. Noticed that the bottom of my feet hurt.

Picked up all my stuff and walked with the family out to the car. Ok - that's a stretch...shuffled out to the car. It was hard to walk. Matt loaded up the car (thank goodness) and I sat down.

Once I got home and took a shower, I stretched out on the bed...that felt SOOOOO good. I don't think I have every felt that physically tired in my life. I didn't want to sleep - I just wanted to lay down. As I was lying there I kept thinking, "If this is how I feel after an Olympic distance tri - how would I feel after a HIM?" It may be in my best interest to take another year of building up a base...


Genetics? No athletic training for the first 42 years of my life? Working full time while raising a family?

The good news is these are all surmountable limits. I can and will get faster and better.


Very well organized...punctual, well marked, clear instructions. Nice route, nice small race.