Open water swims are killing my races. This is not the fist time where I rank in the top for bike/run, but a slow swim keeps me out of being in front. The swim start actually didn't seem very brutal. We were bunched together but I didn't feel as if I were being pounded or pushed. Like everyone else, I started out sighting on the double palm trees because the buoy was invisible in the sun. It seemed as if right from the start I was being left behind. My line was spot on, but the main pack of swimmers were far off to my left. I decided to stay in my own space to the right instead of shifting over to swim with the group. I was giving a solid effort but something about open water throws off my game. I think it's the sighting. I practice sighting in the pool, but in open water I sight and if I don't see what I'm looking for a I kind of freak out and may have to pause for a second to look around and make sure everything is good. I also pause occasionally to cough up some water or let a random swimming get out of my way as we cross paths.

Perhaps I should have moved left to get into the stream of swimmers instead of staying in my own space. I would love more open water practice, but it's just not available to me.

Wetsuit removal wasn't as clean as it could have been. It wasn't exactly stuck on my heels, but I had to use a little extra effort to get it off. We arrived early to get primo spots on the transition racks, so I was right on the end with my bike facing the way I wanted and plenty of personal space.

I might start eliminating the drink of water in transition and save it for when I get moving on the bike.

Started out riding near two others with a long gap between us and the next rider up. It became clear to me pretty quick that we weren't making progress so I dropped gear and hammered to close the gap before getting into the loops. One of the riders came with me and we started picking off people along the first loop. He would hunt someone down as I held on and then I would pull up for the next chase. We weren't drafting, but we were definitely working together to close some pretty big gaps. At the start of the second loop we both got passed by a faster rider. The guy I was working with held on, but I stayed behind and ended up not seeing him again on the bike. I kept up my own hunts, but was dealing with a crowded course on the second loop and people were just hanging out in the middle of road riding next to new friends. When I turned off the loop there were two people that I caught right away but then the whole way back I didn't see anyone in front of me. I was drinking Perpetuem about about every 10 minutes during the bike and took a few swigs of water.

I would have loved to get out of my shoes before the dismount line, but it was at the bottom of a hill and I came up on it too quick. Clomped through T2 to my rack. Race belt on, bike shoes off, run shoes on, helmet off, kept the glasses. paused for a second, took a sloppy swig of water and headed out.

The first aid station was basically right outside of transition so the in swig of water at my bike wasn't necessary. I would like to be out of my shoes before dismount.

This was my last chance to hunt people down and make up for my swim. I grabbed a cup of Gu Brew from the first aid station and managed to splash a little in my mouth but most got on my face. I know how to run, so that's exactly what I did. Like the bike, I enjoyed the first look because I was able to see people in front of me and know that they were beating me. I started picked people off one by one and finally, on the far side of the lake, I caught the guy that I rode the first loop of the bike with. I asked some people fishing if they had caught anything, but they said they hadn't yet. I liked that the first loop took me along the finish chute because I was able to plan out exactly when I wanted to really start kicking it. The first look went quick and I was felt unphased and ready for the second. The course was starting to fill on during my second loop so I was no longer able to tell who I was racing. I just picked out rabbits and hunted them down hoping I was making up time.

Grabbed some food and drink and then checked transition to see if Lauren was out on the run yet. Her bike was there, so I went and waited at the merge point at the start of the second loop. After she came through I went back for some more food and drink, talked with friends, and then went a couple hundred meters up from the finish so I could cheer for Lauren and motivate her to kick it in. After she passed me I ran down and gave her a hug at the finish.


Whatever is holding me back in open water.


This is a great kick off the to season. It's an easy course that allows for a good workout if you're already in training for a bigger race, or is a great course to use for preseason evaluation of yourself. The race result rankings seem a little screwy, so the numbers I used for my overall position in each event is based on sorting result by time and then counting to find myself. It was always different than what they had listed.