I positioned myself just right on the second row, it was a good idea since I didn't get run over or had to go around anyone. Not once I got hit nor hit anybody except for the ocasional feet touch. About a quarter into the swim I found this guy that was going just a tad faster than I was so I hung on to his draft, great decision because he was doing all the sighting (he was pretty straight), and it saved me some energy. With a third of the course still to go he cranked up the pace but I felt this was no time to go hard so I just let him go.
After leaving the lagoon area and entering open water (last 500 yards) there was some swell. With my body going up and down I got a bit dizzy but it wasn't for long.

Absolutely nothing, it was a good swim and the first time I'm able to draft for a good part of the swim.

The longest run in transition that I can remember, over a quarter mile long. Pretty organized transition area with a huge space between racks which made for a quick exit despite the long run.

Nothing at all.

I took the first 25 minutes to lower my HR to aerobic numbers. Climbing the overpasses was not helping but I wasn't over by much, maybe two to three BPM. After I got it controlled, I just cruised at the same HR for the first 40 miles then cranked it up about seven beats.
I had some crosswind/tailwind going out (about 10mph) which made for a faster first split. Heading back into town the wind had picked up a lot so even though my effort was higher the speed was about two mph slower. I executed to perfection though because I passed a ton of folks (that were blown) on my way back.
It was a clean bike course, I never saw anybody drafting and there were zebras all over making sure no packs were formed.


Nothing, nice pacing, great execution.

Uneventful transition, pretty flawless.

Nothing.

I wish I ran the course before the race, to get a better idea of what kind of trouble I was getting myself into.
This was a TOUGH run, pretty much all of the course has some kind of gradient, including some nasty, long climbs. I started feeling great, I even slowed down to conserve energy thinking I would run faster later (ha!). There was some serious hills with funny names like hamburger hill and cat's hill (lot of felines roaming around). There were not enough aid stations, and the water was hot at the end because they seemingly ran out of ice.
At that point, it was hot and humid, and I could only think of the finish line. I kept looking at the watch hoping to PR, and I remember thinking a couple of times that I wasn't going to as I had to walk steep uphill sections at the end.
Even though this run was slow, it was very good relative to the courses challenge.

Get more hill training!

I was toast, tired and blistered so I went to the athletes lounge, ate a slice of pizza and a banana, then headed back to transition to get my bike and morning clothes bag.


No hill training and the scorching heat.


A great race, the most scenic course I ever did, period. I'm coming back for sure, with more hills under the belt though.