My goal was to be sub-7 minutes. In retrospect, I wish I had pushed a little harder. Nice open water in front of me- passed two and was passed by one. Pretty happy with how I seeded myself- bib number 130 and I came in 112. I did see one woman in the first 30 or so that was dog paddling - looked like she was getting destroyed by all of the fast swimmers. Others had trouble this year with the traffic, but I was really happy.

I should have done flip turns with the nice empty walls that I had, however I hadn't practied turning and pushing off under the lane line.

I'm hurting from Plantar Fascitis so I stopped right after the swim to put on some sandals to get to the bike- tripped and nearly fell a couple of times. Due to the cold, I took an extra chance to dry off a bit more than usual. I also broke the cardinal rule- don't do anything new on race day. The day before I bought a new bike jacket, which I proceeded to put on upside down, and then couldn't get zipped. I thought I was going to be a little better than this.

Practice transitions, and don't do ANYTHING new on race day!

One word - WIND! It doesn't sense, but it seemed like the majority of the race was into the wind! There was one brief stretch that I was cruising at ~30, then a corner, and back down to like 12 mph. This is the first race I actually passed people, although I was passed many thousands of times! I spent the winter on the trainer which helped, but in no way prepared me for the wind. I really felt sorry for the folks on fat tire bikes sitting up high- that was me last year - very thankful for the road bike I bought late last year.

Get out on the road more. Get stronger, and get more comfortable on my relatively new bike.

Seriously, almost 4 minutes? Ugh. Nothing went wrong, guess I'm just pokey changing shoes.

Speed laces maybe, and oh yeah, PRACTICE TRANSITIONS!

I had to walk 99% of the route due to the PF. At least my doc and PT will be glad I did. Foot was pretty sore but I walked as quickly as I could. Nice people on the way with encouragement. Needless to say I didn't pass anyone. I wish I could rank my "Overall Walk"! Humorously, at the finish, a wind gust caught the blow-up arch thing just I was crossing, and everyone had a good laugh as I tried to do the limbo as I went under!

Heal my heel.

Hydrated and had a great time sharing stories with my wife (who kicked my butt) and friends. They do a GREAT post race- Noodles and Company puts out a great spread!


Left foot and my brain. I need to learn to push harder.


Just a fantastic experience with so many great people. I hope to do this race every year!