We were out past the breakers (such as they are) so it was swells rather than waves. We were swimming against them though, which made navigation a little tough. I got pushed in off course toward shore twice. Not terribly far but probably added a couple of minutes to my time. Fighting the current was a little tiring. Ended with a fairly long run across the beach into T1, which I am proud to have run rather than walked :)

Sight more frequently.

I was happy with this transition.

Learn to jump on my bike rather than having to stop to mount.

The wind made it hard to hold a pace, although we did make up for some of it when it was at our backs. I kept wanting to hammer harder but I think I did a pretty good job restraining myself (most of the time). There were an awful lot of people blocking...unintentionally I'm sure. I had to use up energy passing people for the first 10 miles before I could get out of the gaggle and ride at a a comfortable pace. Stayed aero for pretty much the entire ride, other than hills and corners.

At mile 27 I got stung by a bee or something, RIGHT on the boob! That kinda sucked. I saw a lot of people flatting early on but I'm not sure why. I've ridden that course lots of times without a problem, so I don't think it was anything in the road. There was a biker down early on also and I got nervous thinkiing it was Coredump.

Nutrition was 1 short (20 oz) and 1 tall water bottle with water, squirt of lime juice and 1 1/2 scoops of Carbopro (2 scoops in the large bottle). 2-3 swallows every 15 minutes, plus I used a gel 1:30 into the ride, then again at 2:15 (those are lap times for the ride, not overall times). Had to skip my sip of nutrition at the 1:15 mark because my stomach felt burbly, but that was really the only time I had even a little bit of an issue. I finished all of the small bottle and 3/4 of the large bottle. Also took 2 endurolytes every hour beginning one hour from race start.

Nothing really.

Pretty happy with my time here.

Learn to jump dismount while moving, although that won't really be possible until I get some shoes without ties.

Well, coming through T2 I heard the announcer say "You athletes may not want to hear this but the heat index has reached 110". (He was right I could have lived without knowing that...) Racine really impressed me, as people all along the run course had thier sprinklers and hoses out. Quite a few people were standing there spraying us down. Without those people that run would have been impossible to do, at least for me. It was just too darn hot.

I was VERY relieved to see Coredump on his way back on my first lap out. I had been concerned that he wrecked.

The aid stations were spaced so that there was one stretch of maybe 1.25 miles of no aid stations. It just so happened that that stretch was not shaded and there were no "hose people" out there, so that little segment was especially brutal. I tried to run from station to station but ended walking a little in that one area and I think one other time on each lap except the last (in addition to walking most of the aid stations). I DID manage to keep my walks short.

Through the entire run I had this pain inside my left leg, at knee level but not within the joint itself. It felt tight, like maybe I pulled something. It messed up my stride quite a bit, as I couldn't fully extend my leg.

My second time at the turn around I looked at my watch and realized that if I went hard I might still break 6 hours so I ran the almost the entire last 3 miles, with the exception of one slight upgrade in the zoo. In spite of my best effort I didn't make it. If I'd stopped to walk just a little less I'd have broken 6 hours. I put in a really good effort though. The heat was just miserable.

I think my energy was just running out by this time too, because every gel made me feel a little better. I used I think 3 on the run but should have used one more when my energy sagged at the beginning. I also continued with the endurolytes.

Used more gel. I was going easy on it because I didn't want my stomach to cramp, but my tum was surprisingly cooperative throughout this race despite an uneasy start. I realized that on the second lap and used a couple, but it was too late. If I had used more, I might have found the guts to run just a little more.

Drink water. Stand under running water shower they had rigged up. Look for Mark, Coredump and Steve everywhere. After what seemed like an hour (but probably wasn't) I found Mark. I found out later that Coredump was in the Medical tent, probably the one place I didn't look. I never did find Steve. I couldn't eat...when I walked into the food tent the smell made me queasy. I don 't know how all those people were able to eat hot past in that heat. Rode my bike home...I think I averaged about 7 mph!


HEAT. HEAT. HEAT. And not enough nutrtion on the run. And leg pain on the run.

The wind on the bike slowed me down a little too. I didn't want to use up a lot of energy fighting it.


This was without a doubt the best race I've ever done as far as organization and activities. There was actually food and gels at the aid stations which I thought was awesome. Plenty of drink stations. The bike route was extremely well managed with cones to close the lanes to vehicle traffic and tons of officers. Post race was really nice, even an announcer calling out names and bib numbers as racers turned toward the finish line. There was just tons of food including rice and beans, pasta, bread, fruit, pb&js, cookies, etc. (I don't know how it tasted though)and even a live band.

It's easy to see why this race is so popular.