Still can't get the hang of drafting. Everytime I get on some guy's toes - it turns out he's the poorest navigator in the water!!!

Go out stronger, perhaps. Although the theme of the day was "go out easy, and pick it up along the way" (like Lance does his time trials).
OK, I would NOT go out stronger, but should pick it up more and earlier.

I leave the shoes in the pedals and jump on the bike while running out of transition. That seems to be so easy I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't do it.

I paused in transition to try and think "am I forgetting anything?" As I was running out of my aisle, I realized that I forgot to put on my socks. I stopped running for just a second and thought about going back. Of course, I KNOW that I don't need socks to ride, but to run. I would just put them on in T2 instead.
I lost 2 minutes to my buddy Markdills38 in combined transitions. He's the FASTEST guy I've seen in transition - and so he's my role model. I have a ways to go to get that fast.
Next time I'll take a REALLY COLD gatorade in my jersey to chug and toss in the first few miles. That would leave me with two full bottles on the bike and my aero bottle.

This was my RACE FOCUS for the day. MANAGE THE PACE!!! So, I kept it turned down one notch for the day and I only averaged 20. I felt so good throughout the whole race, that I must have turned it down too far! LOL!
My second race focus is also on the bike - FUEL THE MACHINE!! That also went well. However, at the top of old stage (the big ass hill) the gatorade was HOT! Yuck! and by mile 20 I was feeling pretty bloated. I took another quart of water and made sure I got down most of my perpetuem (to get me through the run).
I must have needed the plain water, because as I left T2 I thought I should have made a quick pit stop (a good sign!)
Gels - had a shot at 45min and at 1:15.

With two weeks until my next HIM, I'll try a couple of longer bricks to try to get the bike speed dialed in.
2 mph on the bike (at this distance) is worth about 7.5 minutes. If I slowed up a minute a mile on the run (due to fatigue) it would be almost a wash on the clock, but much more difficult!
If, on the other hand, I had the energy to ride 2mph faster, and keep my same run time (and knock a minute out of transition) I would have finished in 39th place. Hmmmm. that should motivate me on those long bricks!

Now I had to sit and put on my socks. I got blisters on my arch during the sprint on this same hot, dusty course (only half of today's run!). 20 seconds in transition is a cheap price for uninjured feet!!
I also forgot to get out my running hat, so I had to dig in my pack.
I'm really lucky that I was able to find my spot in both Ts, since I never looked back or noted where I was when I set up. Doh! The worst part of being late! Funny though, I went straight to my stuff each time. (good instincts I guess!)

In this race, both Ts were pretty fast. My slow down is thinking. I could just feel myself realizing that I don't have to rethink the plan in T anymore. I now know what I need on each leg, and that's it. Just freakin go. My Ts in two weeks will be half this long.

Probably should have taken a gel by the turnaround. But, now that I think about it, I was feeling the Perpetuem, and it upset my stomach a bit. (left the tums in the bento box on the bike).
I couldn't imagine I was running sub-8 miles, and assumed the mile markers were out of position. This actually made me slow up a bit because I was worried that an "extra long" mile was coming. By the time I got to the last hill I didn't care about the signs and just wanted to run fast, but the heat was starting to suck the power out of my legs!
This run revived my belief in LSD runs. Wow, that run wasn't just fast (for me), but amazingly comfortable!

My run training has been inconsistent over recent months. Since I don't know my own body/abilities well, I don't have a feel for how to measure out the speed or power.
Need more LSD and bricks to hone the feel.

Walked, stretched a little, ate, and had a lovely massage! Ahhh the extra benes of being in swim wave 2 of 12. Even though many of those starting later would eventually beat my time, they still finished after I'd already enjoyed the massage tent! I love getting in before the crowds!
I stayed for almost 3 hours and saw the pros finish and all the other BTers (as far as I know!)


I'm still learning, but this was my BEST RACE ever. Maybe not fastest, but best at managing the race and making smart decisions.


This race deserves its reputation as one of the best around - it's really well done. That said, it's been cheapened by a couple of stupid shortcomings:
The 5430 Corp. is always cheap on post race food. It's really a huge disappointment after such a wonderful race. I'd be happy to pay a few more bucks if they could just get more real food!
And, what the heck happened to the "COLD" drinks at aid stations? HOT gatorade on aid #1 really SUCKED!! There were full bottles in the ditch after people realized how hot the drinks were.
Lastly, some racers may have been unlucky, but I usually see some stupid ones too. I hope none died in this race, but I heard there were some serious accidents.